Day 4 - 6 October and still two chicks...

6:30pm Central African Time
we've just done a quick head count when Pot Plant Owl left the nest for all of 1 minute. There are still only 2 chicks and 1 egg. The fact that Pot Plant Owl was so quick to return to the nest might be an indication that the 3rd egg will hatch in the matter of hours.

There is a definite difference between the egg hatchings of last year and this year. Last year, all three eggs hatched within 2 days - somewhere between the 20th September and the 22nd September. This year, there is already a 4-day difference between Chick 1 and soon-to-be Chick 3.

Perhaps this means that instead of just protecting the first laid eggs, PPO actually started incubating them? Who knows. We will watch tonight and tomorrow with baited breath for our third and final chick to make an appearance.