2023 Backyard Owls - Nesting

In January we started hearing regular hooting in the yard. The Great Horned Owls were back, and they were courting! Hooray! We kept a close eye on them.

We also installed a camera above the nest. Desert Boy climbed up and screwed it into the tree.

On February 19th, there was nothing in the nest. But soon after the Mama Owl came in. We watched her peck at the wood. 

She sat there and we thought maybe she was sitting on an egg, but then she left and there was nothing.

On February 22nd, she was sitting on the nest--in the snow! Certainly there was something under her now!

On February 23rd, she left the nest and we could see two eggs! And a bunch of feathers under the eggs.

On February 26th, we saw three eggs! This mama owl was being ambitious.

We set the camera for motion detection and the kids and I get alerts on our phones when there's movement. Here's Mama Owl turning eggs.

And then on March 1st we saw Mama Owl and four eggs! Wowza! Most commonly Great Horned Owls raise two owlets, but the clutch size can be 1-4. Four seems like a lot of owlets for this tiny nest!

It snowed a bunch that day, and I was concerned when I saw the eggs with snow in the nest.

Mama Owl seemed fine, and continued sitting on the eggs.

When the moon is bright, it looks like the eggs glow.

The camera for the most part is silent, but when it's switching at dawn and dusk it makes a little noise. The owl notices.

I really like the glimpses of the eggs under the owl.

On March sixth, we got quite a snowstorm. Here's Mama Owl almost buried in snow at 5:33 a.m.

At 6:06 am, she's completely buried!

Fortunately the snow melted relatively quickly. I've been surprised how often Mama Owl leaves the nest. The eggs are in a different position each time, so she's clearly coming back in between. Here's 3-9-23 at 1:20 a.m.

Then that evening.

Not often, but once in a while we could watch Mama Owl come and go.

I am continually amazed how patient she is. Here she is in really windy conditions.

Papa Owl is often nearby. Here are some photos of him. He usually starts singing to Mama Owl about 6:05 a.m. They continue hooting to each other for 5-10 minutes. Then it starts getting light.

I was curious what they've been eating. There are plenty of owl pellets in the vicinity. Here are a few.

We're anxiously awaiting the appearance of owlets. They are so cute. From the camera, it looks like there were two eggs and a blob on 3/238/23. Hopefully we'll get a better photo soon to see what's happening and the camera battery will hold out longer.

Backyard Owls 2020 - Post 1

Are you ready for some owl photos? I hope so, because I have more than a few to share!

 Two years ago, we were delighted when we found a nesting Great Horned Owl in our backyard silver poplar tree. We watched as the chicks progressed and eventually left. Last year we watched the trees in hope of a repeat show, but the owls did not choose that tree. Then this year, on April 8, I noticed an owl in the tree. I kept checking on her, finding her sitting different ways.

With our stay-at-home orders, I was in awe of this mom who could really stay at home...

Rain...


..or shine.

Sometimes she just looked so tired.

 I could tell one day that she was doing something in her nest, and my guess was feeding young, but I couldn't see them. Finally, on April 25, I saw a little bit of white down. A chick had hatched! I was so excited!

I started observing more. The owls are about 25 feet up in the tree, and I can get the best views up into the tree crotch from about 80 to 90 feet away, so I use binoculars or my 400mm lens on my crop sensor camera. For these photos, after I downloaded them I cropped them to make the owls bigger. So you are looking at lots of magnification, much better than you can see with your naked eye.

Here's another little peek at white fluffiness.

Then mama owl got down low to her young.

Those eyes!


I wish I knew what she was doing here.

And then she gave me a peeved look.

Later came a more coquettish look.


And then just a sleepy look.

Showing off her tail feathers. Mama owl, I really want to see your babies!

Mama owl was not in any hurry to show me her babies. But she did give me lots of other looks.

 And then, finally, today on 30 April 2020, I saw two young! I did such a happy dance. More photos to come...