Weekend Birding: Great Horned Owl Nest
A pair of Great-horned Owls are nesting on a golf course adjacent to one of the parks where I frequently go on bird walks. Last Saturday the group received permission to venture out on the golf course to see the nest.
We were able to observe the mother and two owlets high up in the tree. In the zoomed-in shot above you can clearly see the mom and the older owlet and just make out the younger owlet to the right.
Interesting Facts
- The Great Horned Owl does not make its own nest and typically takes over nests in trees made by other bird species. This nest looks like it previously belonged to a hawk. (click for larger view)
- This is one of the most common owls and is found across most of North America and parts of Central America.
- They can often be heard in suburban backyards calling a territorial “hoo-hoo-hoooooo” that will carry for miles.
- They are not migratory and most individuals are permanent residents although they may move when food is scarce.
- They are primarily nocturnal hunters and will eat whatever food is available including mammals and other birds.
An Owl Pellet
Owls usually swallow their prey whole and it is dissolved by their digestive system. Parts that can’t be digested such as fur, bones, teeth and claws are compacted into a pellet which the owl will eject by coughing it back up.
We found several pellets in the area but this one was the largest. It was composed of a lot of fur and fairly large bones. A few of the more experienced birders in my group speculated it was a skunk. The Great Horned Owl is one of the few animals that are known to eat skunks.
Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce at At Home With Books. Visit her blog to see more great photos or add your own.
© 2013 Under My Apple Tree. All rights reserved.
Under My Apple Tree 
Those ears are amazing!! And I’m wishing I hadn’t seen that pellet pic just before eating my dinner 🙂
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I learned so much from your post! Love the pic of mama and the owlets.
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How lucky to see an owl and its nest. Those babies are so fuzzy. I think I saw an eagle as I was driving to work the other evening. I looked twice but then had to pay attention to the road. It was heading toward an old quarry that is surrounded by trees now. Here’s Mine
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I know what you mean! I almost ran off the road looking at a large bird soaring overhead. It was a just a hawk, but eagle sightings are becoming more frequent.
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I didn’t know they were nest thieves 😉 Learn something new every day! Great photos 🙂
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They take over a nest after it has been abandoned and add a few sticks and feathers and call it their own. They will also nest in old tree cavities, on buildings and artificial platforms.
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Wow, I bet seeing that was amazing! It looks like our mama bird has abandoned the nest on our front porch. 😦 I sure hope she’s okay.
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That’s not a good sign, especially if she had already laid eggs.
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The owls look ominous….but what a great shot! I can’t imagine seeing one close up and in the neighborhood park! Thanks for sharing…and for visiting my blog.
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The Great Horned is a very formidable owl. They stand about 2 feet tall (63 cm) with a wingspan of up to 57 inches (145 cm). The entire time we were observing the nest she never moved more than an inch or two.
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I always learn so much from your Weekend Birding posts Leslie. What magnificent owls you have there. Fascinating to learn about their habits too. I’m so glad you included the pellet photo- even though it’s gross- it makes me very glad that’s not how we eat our dinner! I’d heard of pellets but never seen one.
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I thought about making the pellet photo tiny so no one would lose their breakfast over it. But really it’s so fascinating I figured most people would want to see it. At least I hope they did!
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I’ve never seen an owl nest so I found this fascinating! Loved seeing the mother and owlets and learning about the owls nesting habits. I’ve seen the owl pellets before as my son had a school project with them and found them disgusting but fascinating.
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Up close the pellet looked like dryer lint with bones. Not as gross as I imagined it would be before I actually saw one in person.
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How great that you got to see (and photograph) Great Horned Owls! It’s been a long, long time since I’ve seen one, let alone owlets. Great shots!
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This is a first for me. We had been watching these owls during the winter and hoping they would nest. We are going back on the golf course in a few weeks. By then the owlets might be out on the branches.
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I love seeing the owl nest, they are adorable even if they are not so small. I’d love to move an Owl nest into my yard, we are plagued with skunks. I wonder if they have bad breath after eating skunk? Mother nature sure is wonderful.
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That was new information for me. I didn’t think any animal was brave enough to eat a skunk. Plus skunks are often rabid. The owls are welcome to stop by my neighborhood and eat skunks anytime.
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Thanks for all the info. Interesting to see the baby owls. I think your owl has longer ears as the one I saw… but they’re both Great-Horned. I’ve never seen an owl pellet before. A couple of days ago I saw the remains of a bird on a brush branch, and it was a nasty sight. You see, I’m so used to the beauty of birds and nature, not ready to see the matter of facts, the ‘wildness’ of their life.
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I love this…especially the babies!
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I’m a real fan of owls, and love your pictures and narrative!
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wow…those ears are huge. great capture.
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Very neat that you got to see them! I’ve only seen an owl in the wild once, and it was a little one – I don’t know which breed, but it was full grown and still very small.
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Wonderful picture of a strange looking bird. My Snapshot is at http://goo.gl/DrAfs
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Great pictures! That owl looked a bit angry, haha! Thanks for stopping by my snapshot post, too! 🙂
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Wow. Just wow. What a rare treat!
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Amazing photos. I would not know what I was looking at had I come across it, but now I know all about owl pellet.
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That’s amazing they can eat a skunk! Informative blog this week♫ My SS: http://lmkazmierczak.blogspot.com/2013/04/valuable-junk.html
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stunning, so beautiful and with such great information, as usual. you are the BEST bird blogger EVER!
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These are remarkable. WoW!
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