Yesterday afternoon the stars aligned, or should I say the owls, sun and open eyes!
I found the nest on March 12th, which may have been the day of the first egg was laid. At this point, I don’t know how many owlets are in the nest. It is obvious at least one youngster is still under Mom, and GHO owlets are born up to 7 days apart (the eggs are laid that far apart in terms of time), In past years the owlets had actually fledged by this date (i.e. were able to fly). (See the nesting timeline from Cornell) Normally owlets open their eyes upon reaching about nine days old.
Anyhow, meet “fuzz ball”. The image was taken yesterday afternoon around 4:30 a bit north of Duluth. If you would like to watch these owlets grow up, I will likely be able to track them through about Labor Day. Don’t forget I give away a free full version PDF copies of Do You Hoot? which tells the story of the owlets from two years ago.
Anyhow … Fuzz Ball the First!
(email subscribers … see the Fuzz Ball Movies! One | Two)
Let’s compare the apparent age and size to the Amity triplets. Photograph taken three years ago on the same day in May.
Thank you so much for your posting I enjoy it so much.
Dear 365: Those are darn good owlet photos! I notice you are NOT touting the beauty of the Seven Bridges Road over Amity Creek, so I have a general idea of where your owl buddies are hanging out. I’ll say “hi” when the creek and Lester River water temps rise and we are trying a little Spring fly-fishing. (p.s.- Your Costa Rican bird photos were dynamite … particularly the ones of the last known and previously thought extinct ivory-billed woodpecker ….okay, maybe they were of the pale-billed woodpecker. Your next adventure should be to Ojito de Agua in Cuba where ivory-billed sightings (I believe) were confirmed in the 1980s versus the last confirmed sighting in the US of 1944. Adios!)
That baby needed better weather to enter into the world ❣️
love this picture of the baby and the adult behind!!!!!!!