Seven days ago my owlets were best buddies … friends forever!
However the older of the twins decided to make its first flight four nights ago. This left the younger owl, which was born a few days after its older sibling “home alone”! It was not a nice experience for the youngest Great Horned Owlet. While Mom and Dad still delivered food, when the big spring storms hit there was noone with which to cuddle up and stay warm. This was NOT enjoyable!
For Mom Great Horned Owl life actually became more difficult. She had youngsters now in two very different locations. The trees / perches she had used for the past month were now useless, for they did not provided the proper lines of sight to her youngsters. Not too surprisingly she often needed sleep (notice how the feathers on her eyelids even help camouflage the sleeping owl).
For the older owlet there was now a new forest to explore, but given weak flight muscles it does not fly far or often. In this series of images taken just before sunset last night the oldest owlet closely watches marauding crows. Thankfully, even though the owl’s perch is rather exposed, Mom took one for the team. She started hooting to attract the crow’s attention and then made a short flight to really get the black birds mad at her (and ignore her owlets).
Both owlets have now fledged, and the youngest has joined its older sibling in the world of flight. I am somewhat relieved to have the birds away from their nest. I was extremely careful in terms of not telling many friends the location of this year’s nest. The owl family were hiding in plain sight right above a major hiking trail, but thankfully to actually see the nest one had to enter the deep edge of the forest … which the hikers almost never do.
Learn more about the early life experiences of Great Horned Owlets via Cornell.
