Wednesday 17 November

After a heavy downpour last night, we wake to find two sorry-looking chicks in the nest. Jelani and Indie appear to have been out all night / early morning in the rain, for their feathers are drenched. The expressions on their faces say it all "Had enough!".

Teeny, on the other hand, is almost completely dry, standing near the owl box. The chick is not out hunting with its parents yet, so when the rain came down harder, Teeny must have taken shelter.

There's no sign of Pot Plant Owl and Pappa this morning. In the rain last night, I only heard Pappa hooting once, but I do know he was around.

16h00 Central African Time: no chat on either Africam or Ustream sites. I suspect they must be experiencing IT trouble like we had a short while ago. Tonight, we will give an hourly update on this blog, until we call it a night.

17h00: Indie and Jelani are fast asleep in the nest. Teeny is dozing off next to the owl box. Parents are not in sight yet.

17h40: Parrot alarm call alerts us to fact that Pot Plant Owl is sitting on the neighbour's roof. She's still looking quite wet from the afternoon showers we had today. No sign of Pappa yet.

17h45: Jelani and Indie look like they are getting ready to move for the evening. Teeny is face-planting at the moment - going nowhere in a hurry.

18h05: Teeny is up on the owl box roof, looking out. "Exploring time!" says Teeny. Jelani has found the parrot jungle gym to perch on, while Indie remains content to in the nest pot plant. Still no sign of Pappa. PPO on the roof nearby.

18h35: Getting dark quickly. Jelani is on the balcony floor and Indie still in the nest. PPO on the roof and Teeny on the owl box. There is a lot of cloud around, and there is a good chance of more rains tonight. Still no sign of Pappa yet.

18h55: Indie and Jelani are off the balvony into the neighbour's garden. Teeny still in the same spot. PPO and Pappa are not in sight. All quiet here. Very little hissing.

18h57: Teeny just got the first bit of food for the evening. PPO flew in with a King Cricket. We were standing outside and saw PPO's spectacular, smooth flight towards us. Not a sound was made as she flew effortlessly in. Indie and Jelani are attempting their own hunting of king crickets on the neighbour's lawn.

19h02: Teeny is on the wall now. Pappa flew in and fed one of the chicks on the roof. The other chick is still on the grass in the neighbour's garden, trying to hunt for itself. Can't tell from here which chick is doing the hunting.

20h00: The whole family together. Teeny is hissing loudly while standing on the wall. One of the chicks, I think Jelani, is with Teeny. The other chick is standing on top of the neighbour's children's play gym. Very funny that it has progressed from the parrots' jungle gym to the human jungle gym. Pot Plant Owl is with her chicks, and Pappa has brought food in for the family. Everyone is within sight and all are looking very well. Teeny is more confident with the others being around.

21h10: All is quiet and calm on the home front. Teeny flew to our garden, an is now playing on the grass with one of its siblings. The parents have been flying in with food, although they are trying to encourage the chicks to hunt king crickets and other smaller insects themselves. Jelani and Indie are learning to hunt, but Teeny still wants food deliveries.

As I sign off tonight, I can't help but wonder whether Teeny will find its way back up to the balcony early tomorrow morning. I can't wait to find out.