Day 21 - 24 October and the air is thick...

The air is thick. Radio stations are reporting that today is the hottest October day in a number of years. Today feels like the height of summer and it's made even hotter by a thick, hot air that just 'hangs'.

The owls are coming remarkably well on the balcony. Pot Plant Owl sought shade under a small bush in a pot plant on the far side of the balcony. The chicks were kept cool in PPO's shade, and then in the shade provided by the shade cloth we secured on the side of the balustrade.

The chicks, at 21 and 20 days old respectively, are healthy and strong. No surprises that the chicks are growing so quickly with the amount of food they are devouring. Pot Plant Owl appears to be rationing the food intake - flying off with food, and returning to the nest with it later.

PPO's 'cough' is still a question mark hanging over our heads. We could ask FreeMe to catch PPO and take her in for tests, but what happens to the chicks? And what if there is nothing seriously wrong with PPO? For now, we are recording videos of PPO's cough so our bird specialist vet and FreeMe can decide the way forward. Apart from the 'cough', Pot Plant Owl appears to be behaving normally, and eating well enough.

Let's see what the experts say and take it from there.

And let's all do a rain-dance, and hope we get a decent amount of rain soon...