I lived in a rental years ago that had a water tower on the property. Each year barn owls nested in the eaves of the water tower, and each year my husband and I spent many evenings sitting nearby watching them. We saw babies learn to fly, mother and father swoop in and out with food, and could always see the mother and babes sleeping during the day.

Enter The Owl Box. We can now watch the life cycle of a barn owl family in a much more up close and personal manner.

Word on the interwebs is that two years ago Carlos Royal, a retired developer in San Marcos, Calif, built an owl box fitted with a number of video cameras. This January it was occupied by a pair of barn owls who produced 6 eggs. So far 4 of the eggs have hatched.

The dad owl delivers edibles in the evening and the mom and owlets eat on them throughout the day. There’s an advisory on the site that states: This is a live feed of a Wild Barn Owl and family. Owls are carnivores. They hunt, kill and consume small rodents and other small animals. This is nature and contains scenes of the cycle of life which may occur at any time without warning.

There’s also an on-going Twitter feed next to the live 24-hour video, but you have the option of going to full screen if you prefer your owl-watching without the commentary. And the maker of the box does live video chats with schools across the country. I love the internet! [Thanks, Diane!]