Great Horned Owls Part 2

Ok, so I have put it off long enough and now it is time to share some more photos of the beautiful Great Horned Owl family I encountered over the spring and summer. So here is a photo overload... haha.

The last time I shared about their story they were still in the tree and hadn't fledged yet.

So, here are some pictures of them taking that risky step out onto the branch and seeing what life was like beyond the safety of the space in the tree.

The picture below is of the first owlet I saw on a branch outside of the tree. What a cute little one. You can see their siblings feathers still inside the tree but I am pretty sure they were just as eager to see what life was like on the other side.

A couple of days later I saw two on the branch. Once again, just hanging out. Getting used to the surroundings.

Mama was not far away at all. She hung out on a tree directly across keeping a close eye.

We then found Papa in a familiar tree where I have taken a picture of him sitting there in the past.

I had heard rumours that there might have been a third baby, but I had yet to see them. This day I found the third baby. So, I thought that maybe the two babies in the previous picture were 2 and 3 who left the nest and this one who I discovered in a near by bush might have been the first one.

It wasn’t long before the family started flying to different parts of the forest. With the leaves getting bigger, finding them became more of a challenge.

Some days, when I thought I couldn’t find any of the family, the crows would do the job for me. I realized that when the crows or ravens flew into the forest as a group, Papa would start making a “hoo hoo” sound, warning Mama and the babies. Then Mama would make a kind of screeching noise, which makes me wonder if she was letting the babies know where she was so they wouldn’t get nervous. Hearing their calls, I would search the trees in the direction of the sound, and usually I was lucky enough to spot one or two… or all of them.

Someone once told me that during the day, when the owls are sleepy, the crows will take advantage and tease them, especially the babies. I’ve seen this happen in the past. It always made me nervous, and I would wish the crows would just leave the poor babies alone. However, once it turns dark, the tables turn and the owls give the crows what’s coming to them… haha.

Here are a few candid pictures of the family over the course of a few visits.

One day when I was visiting the family, I found that the babies seemed very tired. It was a bit later in the day but perhaps they had a busy night learning how to hunt and they just needed a long nap before going out for training again.

My friend had sent me a reel in September about Great Horned Owlets sometimes laying their head down to sleep because their head is too heavy to keep up. I wrote her back and said "I think I have a picture like that!" I thought it was so funny at the time when I saw this baby passed out on the branch, but now it made sense.

I will just share a few more pictures for now as I still have many to go through.

So there will be a part 3.

There's an area in the forest which I believe is perfect for hunting some dinner that is close to the ground. I had been wondering when this stage would begin. One late afternoon I found one of the owlets on a log. They looked like a muppet, so funny looking.

I only saw them a couple of times in this area before they moved onto another part of the forest.

The forest is also active with other animals and bird life.

This Northern Flicker was a proud parent of a little baby who was hiding in one of the dead trees. We would watch Mama fly away and then return to the tree to feed her little one.

An American Robin gathering grass to build a nest

This English Starling also took house on the other side of the dead tree the

Northern Flicker was in.

A little butterfly

And we cannot forget Floppy ears.

Ok, so there will be a part 3. Dad leaves, then mom leaves a month later and the babies strike out around town on their own.

Just a note. All of my encounters with the owls I am a safe distance away and respect their space. I have a long lens and I quite often crop the picture in post-editing to give you a closer look. We are very mindful of the location of these owlets. This past spring we had heard of a GHO family's location in Calgary revealed to many and they were bombarded with people. The stories we heard were disturbing just so people could "get the shot". All these birds want to do is raise strong babies. Most of the time I only stay for a short period of time. I have a little chat with them, take some pictures and then move on. Granted, some days I am there longer because they are doing some fascinating things. I like to think this family knows me haha. The pictures I have shared between my two blog posts are over a 3 month period.

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