I have learned the morning forest schedule. My local crows after first eating breakfast tend to attack my owls as their next morning task. For that reason, my male Great Horned Owl is almost guaranteed to be sitting in the nesting tree early each morning. In the afternoon he moves to another perch. I’m sure his mate appreciates his presence and protection.

On the hike back from the nest, I took this video of the frozen waterfall (The Deeps) which is 400 yards from my house. The actual waterfall is about three times taller than what I was able to show in the video, but I could not safely descend into the ravine to get a different perspective … too much ice. I hope it provides some peace and calm in these troubling times. (video link for email subscribers)

Finally, here is a video of the Northern Saw-whet owl I saw exactly one month ago today at the Hartley Nature Center. In the background of the video you are able to hear the nursery school kids who first found the owl! It’s a happy sound. This bird did not mind humans … easy hunting by the feeders trumped all! (video link for email subscribers)

Quite frankly, I am lucky to live on the edge of the northern Boreal Forest. During these trying times, I will redouble my efforts to bring you the wilderness world via blog posts in the hope it might provide a calming respite from all our worries. In the forest, I am able to easily maintain a six foot distance from other humans. I did not see another person during my morning hike …