Let’s here it for Moms everywhere. Soon it will be Mother’s Day, and these fine females raise the kids, guard the home, and teach their young how to conquer the world. With Great Horned Owls, our Mom has to put up with crow attacks all day long. During the night she hunts (along with Dad) to bring home the bacon. It’s amazing Mom ever gets any sleep? Sound familiar, you human Moms? Great Horned Owl Moms lead a tough life.
Thus … Mom, the Great Horned Owl (also known as Amy … photographed at sunset last night and sunrise this morning)
Her triplets … the youngsters she keeps safe. (photographed this morning)
Yesterday, this Bald Eagle stretched its wings in salute to Mom! (photographed at my local Wisconsin wetlands yesterday morning)
It’s been four days since I’ve filed a Great Horned Owl triplet report. First, the basics … everyone is doing fine. I suspect we are seven days away from the first short hopping flights. At this stage, we have entered a point in the young owl’s lives called branching. This is an official term, not one I created. For young owls, branching is the period when they are not able to fly, but are able to walk around their nesting tree … onto different branches. Their talons are well developed which gives the young owls plenty of grip strength.
Here is a photograph and two videos which demonstrates branching. The actual nest has now been destroyed by the owlets (not on purpose), and the chicks were greeting the early morning sun a bit after sunrise. Today’s temperature is hanging out in the high 30’s, with a stiff NE wind off Lake Superior. Thus, the use of branching to get morning sun was appreciated by everyone.
Early this morning just after sunrise … Branching
A video taken at the same time this morning (video link for email subscribers)
A Great Horned Owl chick setting off on a walk! (video link for email subscribers)
Now it’s time just for fun photos! These images are a few of my favorites taken over the past four days
Seen from on high! (I am lying on the ground starting straight up about 40 feet)
Six Eyes!
Enjoying the morning sun!
The triplets go through an amazing amount of food, which keeps both parents very busy hunting. The two main items on the menu seem to be rabbits and crows.
Eating rabbit
Rabbit, not just for breakfast anymore (video link for email subscribers)
Thus, as you can see, the Great Horned Owl chicks are doing fine. I am generally visit the nest at dawn and dusk, weather permitting (i.e. I am a fair weather birder!)
On this Earth Day 2020, just like the swallows return to Capistrano, White Pelicans return to Chambers Grove on the St. Louis River every spring. (image taken yesterday morning)
It is worth noting that when I was a child in the 1960’s the St. Louis River was essentially a dead from the wastes deposited by our Northland cities. Years later through the efforts of Western Lake Superior Sanitary District (WLSSD) and other efforts … sturgeon spawn in the river, birds fish, and mammals live / hunt the river banks. As a child I would not have even thought of swimming in that water. Ugh.
Thus, let’s applaud our past efforts to clean up the environment, but also protect the laws which protect our land, water and air. Just yesterday the Trump administration rolled back Federal protections for streams and wetlands. If we keep killing nature through pollution, we will eventually kill ourselves. (story from National Public Radio about the roll back of environmental protection laws)
Some more photographs I took yesterday morning of the White Pelicans …
All is calm …
For some reason I imagine this one pelican is exhorting its buddies that IT IS TIME TO GET UP! Given the temperature was 28F with a stiff breeze, I suspect everyone else thought fishing could wait! Finally one other pelican yells …. “Shut Up!”
