Tag Archives: MN North: Amity

Morning Owls

Year 9,

Poppa Owl took one for the team yesterday morning just before sunrise. Shortly before sunup there was a major crow attack in my local forest, and I know from experience that Dad leads the crows away from the nest. A nice morning hike through the woods yielded this pic of Mom.

Meanwhile the prior morning was spent over at Sax-Zim Bog. The weather forecast called for moderate temperatures, overcast skies, and light wind … perfect owling conditions. I arrived in the Bog shortly before sunrise, and watched one owl hunt for over an hour. Here the Great Gray Owl is nailing a landing.

Dad on Guard! (Great Horned Owl)

Year 9
For the fourth year in a row, I am watching a pair of Great Horned Owls nest in the forest near my home on the north edge of Duluth. Earlier this afternoon I just happened to see the male owl fly into a white pine right next to his lady love. Even though I saw the bird fly into the tree, and knew the owl was definitely perched near me, it still took me over 10 minutes with high powered binoculars to find “Dad”! These birds are well camouflaged in white pines!
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One goal when you watch owls should be to leave them, and any other bird, undisturbed. After the owl checked me over (the first image), it fell asleep (the final image). I was obviously not a threat, and far enough away using the zoom lens to allow the owl to relax.  … Dad is asleep.
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Great Horned Owl Male Checking Me Over

Checking on his Lady Love (about 15 yards away and 30 feet lower in the nest)

Dad Asleep

Nest!!!

Year 9

Year 4 with Les and Amy, my Great Horned Owl parents is now truly kicked off! I think I must now have hiked over 40 times in search of this year’s home … most of that time at night. I actually had inspected the specific tree in which the nest is located many times, but even this afternoon when I went back during the daytime I almost failed to spot the Great Horned Owl nest.

I first noticed an area in the tree that looked like a nest, but after ten minutes plus of inspection by binoculars, I could find nothing. For a short time I went to inspect some other trees, but kept coming back in my mind to this tree in particular. I knew I had heard lots of hooting at night in the vicinity of this white pine, but even though I inspected the base of the pine, I could find zero whitewash. Finally I found an owl pellet and it was “game on”! I redoubled my efforts and eventually found an angle from which I could see the horns, one eye, and the tail. I knew from experience the Mom lies very flat on the nest both for the warmth of the eggs, and her own protection. Given how cold this winter has been including today, I suspect nesting was a bit delayed this year, but “mom owl” has likely been on the nest for a few weeks.

Molly even agreed to move our dinner hour this week (she is not a birder, but she likes our owls). Since Sunday I have been hiking every night shortly after sundown, putting myself in position to listen for the first hoot of the night. Each morning I would come back during the daytime and inspect my focus area.

Amy … the Great Horned Owl Mom on her Nest!