Great Horned Owlets are known to “branch” at approximately 40 days of age, but what is an owlet supposed to do if one’s nest is only a cavity without branches? Trunk!!!

A few days ago when I hiked over to visit the owlets shortly after sunrise I discovered there was “trunking” go on! Enjoy!

Nesting Timeline from the Cornell School of Ornithology: (directly quoted)

Day 1: The chicks are unable to raise their heads and will lie limp for the first few days after hatching. At hatching the young are covered with white down, which is initially wet but dries quickly. Legs and skin are pink. They depend on their parents to bring them food and to feed them. Young show remnants of the yolk sac and retain the egg tooth for four to six days. Eyes stay closed for 9 to 11 days. The young crawl beneath their parent, grasp weakly, swallow, and gape on the first day.

Day 3: The young will start to raise their heads.

Day 6: The young will start snapping their bills.

Day 7: Young are able to cast their first pellets.

Day 9: Eyes may start to open.

Day 14: The owlets are able to locate the parents by sound. They will respond with food calls or whimpers when the adults hoot.

Day 15: The young will start to exhibit hostile behavior when intruders approach the nest. They may hiss, sway from side to side, snap their bills, and raise their wings.

Day 19: The young will start trying to focus on objects with exaggerated head movements.

Day 21: The young start to become more and more curious and begin to grasp objects in the nest and nibble them.

Day 20-27: The owlets are able to feed themselves, with food brought to the nest, although the female parent may continue to feed them.

Day 40: The young are able to climb well, at which time they may leave the nest and clamber out along a tree branch. This stage is known as branching.

Day 45-49: The young are fully feathered and capable of flight.

At seven weeks the owls are capable of three to four short flights of diminishing distance as they tire easily.

After leaving the nest, the fledglings stick together for several weeks. They often roost together in a tree in the immediate vicinity. Adults generally roost away from the young, who react to the sight of the adults with begging calls and flights towards the adults. Adults bring their young occasional food items, even into September, and deposit them, leaving the young to dismember and swallow the prey on their own.

Amity Great Horned Owlets …

35 Days Old (my best age guestimate of the oldest owlet)

36 Days Old

Time for a Great Horned Owl family report. The owlets are growing fast, and this post does not even get me caught up to present day. I am still three days behind!

Once again, please do NOT post any images or share information to social media sites. While I have many social media accounts, I am NOT posting my own images, and will not till the owlets fledge (i.e. are able to fly). I know a number of you have figured out where the owls lived based upon:

1. Knowing where I live
2. Reviewing my images

I certainly want folks to enjoy the owlets and their parents, but I consider the nest in a vulnerable spot. Thank you. Now, let’s get on with the show.

Owlets – 30 Days Old … my best guess at their age … remember the younger owl is likely 3 to 6 days younger.

Owlets – 31 Days Old … Under an almost full Moon! Photos taken one hour after sunset.

Owlets – 32 Days Old

Owlets – 33 Days Old … Mom returns to the nest!

The Northward Bird Migration is in full force. I keep a window open in our bedroom year round, and that means I get to hear the “Morning Sing”. Warning, you need to be an early rising person to enjoy the early morning sing. Right now in northern Minnesota with the sun rising a few minutes before 6:00 am, the morning song tends to start around 5:15 am, and the participants are changing daily as more bird species arrive back (or pass through) the Northland. By the first day of summer … the day with the longest amount of daylight … the morning song here at my house tends to start around 4:15 am (30 to 45 minutes before sunrise)

While most woodpecker species remain here throughout the winter, three species are migrants … two of which have made it back to the Northwoods in the past 7 to 10 days (at least the males claiming prime breeding habitat). Not to far from our bedroom window is a large white pine which has a 20 foot tall dead left trunk … the perfect drumming tree. At 5:15 am, my alarm clock woodpecker, a Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker, arrives to put on its first performances of the new day. Apparently Northern Flickers are birds which enjoy sleeping in a bit. The flickers ALWAYS arrive 20 to 25 minutes after the sapsucker. The exact same tree is utilized with a different rhythm and beat! It is always funny to see who responds to the drumming. Quite often other woodpecker species arrive to check out who is giving the performance, but only the “right species” takes a true interest!

Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker / Alarm Clock Bird

If you would like to learn what birds are migrating though your area right now (or mine at the head of Lake Superior), read up on my Haikubox which records what is singing in or near my yard. You may also connect to Haikuboxes at various points on different migration highways. Learn more …

Here is the link for my own Haikubox. You may wish to select the data for the birds that sang in my yard yesterday … a 24 hour period.