Big, Big Mistake! Amy and Les, my local Great Horned Owl parents are not only good providers, but they are great guardians / protectors. This post documents the past few days and includes a crow attack. Momma / Amy was not pleased.

The images includes within this post are from Day #9 (owlets 19 days old) and Day #11 (owlets 21 days old). According to the Cornell School of Ornithology Great Horned Owlets normally spend their first 8 to 10 days underneath Momma Owl … thus I am adding 10 days from when the owlets were first viewable by me on Easter Morning.

Day #9 (19 days old): The nest is getting crowed, but Momma Owl still spends most of her time keeping the owlets warm and protected

Day #11 (21 days old): Momma Owl is now off the nest more than she is with the owlets. There isn’t much extra room, and the growing youngsters need both parent owls to hunt for food. Early this morning the crows attacked the owls … for good reason. Examine the first image. The owlets often enjoy crow for breakfast.

Things had calmed down by the next afternoon. Both owlets are fine … one is just hiding in the shadows of the nest.