{"id":531,"date":"2018-09-22T11:46:55","date_gmt":"2018-09-22T11:46:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.megforward.com\/birds\/?p=531"},"modified":"2022-08-06T14:36:07","modified_gmt":"2022-08-06T14:36:07","slug":"visiting-the-great-horned-owl-nest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.megforward.com\/birds\/index.php\/2018\/09\/22\/visiting-the-great-horned-owl-nest\/","title":{"rendered":"Great Horned Owl Nestlings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The first Great Horned Owl<\/strong> nest that I discovered was in February, 2018. It was a surprise to find it inside the Old Burying Ground<\/a> rather than somewhere far from human encroachment. There are nestlings in the huge Live Oak tree below. Can you see them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The nest site chosen by the parents was about 30 feet above ground in a large hollow between branches. By the time the nestlings were visible from the ground, they were already a few weeks old. There was no longer any room in the nest for the parents .                        <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At first I observed two nestlings, also called “owlets.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A few days later I noticed another fluffy body. There were three nestlings!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The three owlets!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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As they grew larger, it got crowded in the nest, so only two nestlings might be visible at once. Here are views of the nestlings at about one month of age …<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Note the down feathers being shed outside the nest.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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All three are visible.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Gradually, the nestlings ventured out of the nest, edging along branches of the nest tree. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here are some close-up photographs of the owlets at five or six weeks, still covered with their fuzzy immature plumage. Their ear tufts are getting more definition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At almost two months, the young owls begin to fly from short distances from the nest, but remaining inside the graveyard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The young owls were not left unsupervised. A parent owl was never far away, always watchful…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After about ten weeks, the young owls were fully fledged. Spending the daylight hours in trees within the graveyard, they waited for their parents to return at night, so all five owls could hunt together as a family. The two youngsters that I call “the twins” roosted together during the daylight hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Twins.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Independent Juvenile Owl.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

All three of the youngsters stayed in the graveyard during the summer months. I often saw them in the dim light after sundown, swooping down silently from a high perch to join their parents close to the ground. I saw one of them in July, full-grown at about six months of age, but still lacking adult feathers on her head…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The bird fights its way out of the egg.  The egg is the world.  Who would be born must first destroy a world.                <\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>Herman Hesse<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Here are more owl posts to visit:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n