Watch Hayward’s baby owls enter the world

Any time now, fresh owlets trapped inside six eggs at Hayward’s Sulphur Creek Nature Center will start twitching and wiggling their way to freedom.

And they’re going to do it all online.

This is the first year that a small, unobtrusive webcam has been tucked into a corner of their owl box. The infrared camera will guarantee web watchers a front-row seat to the baby barn owl’s first moments, even in the total darkness of night.

A nature center spokesperson told the Hayward Daily Review that the first egg is expected to hatch sometime time this weekend. The rest of the eggs are supposed to hatch every two days or so until the owl family is complete.

As we write, mama barn owl can be seen incubating the eggs, undoubtedly eager for her babies to emerge. Occasionally she’ll turn or shift her body, always taking a second to check on her eggs below.

The camera will stay online moving forward, so you can check in on the fledging owls as they get raised by their parents.

Support from the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District, Castro Valley Rotary Club, Ojo Technology and Building Knowledge made the webcam possible.

Jesse Garnier

Jesse Garnier is the editor and founder of SFBay. A Mission District native, he also teaches journalism as associate professor at San Francisco State University.