I made a trip over to the Great Horned Owl nesting site a bit before sunset yesterday evening. It was some super evening’s entertainment.
I found Twin #1 almost immediately
Finding Mom and Twin #2 was more difficult. The second owlet was hiding behind Mom, but it finally popped out to say hello. There was only ten minutes of light left when this opportunity suddenly presented myself (out of two hours on site). The crow may be seen much easier in the second of these two images.
And the crow was quite obvious 20 minutes earlier, but the Twin was hiding. If you maximize this photo and stare closely at the Mom’s head, you will be able to just barely see a bit of the owlet’s outline. Trust me, it’s there!
The weather is ugly this weekend across Minnesota. It’s raining in Duluth with 50 mph wind gusts. There are great waves out on Lake Superior. It is even snowing just a bit north of Duluth on the Iron Range. Weather like this means no birding or bicycling, which means it’s a perfect time for upgrading my online presence.
The first big change is a reworked search engine for my blog. Results should be more relevant. You will find the search box on the far right of the menubar (large screen version), and at the bottom of the mobile menu on your cell phone.
In addition, I made the decision to increase my presence on Instagram. Thus, I have edited that account and am now frequently adding images. If you are on Instagram and would like to check me out, and possibly start a follow, here is the link … Rich Hoeg on Instagram
Here is a screenshot which shows where search is found in the mobile menu. I am also working through some changes for the Minnesota Birdings News mobile app, but those upgrades are still a few weeks in the future.
Hey there Mr. Owl is a finalist for the Northeast Minnesota Book Awards sponsored by the University of Minnesota. For the second time I collaborated with Susan Larson Kidd (the author) and Sparky Stensaas (book designer). All the photographs in the book are mine.
In our children’s book, while your special child learns to read and is introduced to the five senses (touch, taste, feel, smell and hear), they will follow owls around the Northern Forest as each owl meets up with other forest birds and mammals (see end of blog post for a complete list).
Up until Awards Night on May 23rd, you may also download a free version of my upcoming NEW children’s book, Snowy’s Search for Color. The print version will be available by Christmas. Feedback in the comments concerning my new book is greatly appreciated. (PDF Format Reading Screenshot for my new book)
Here are some page previews of our book, Hey there Mr. Owl!, which is up for the NEMBA Award, along with a purchase link.
Book Preview: Page 2 and 3 (page 1 is a title page)
Book Preview: Page 4 and 5
Book Preview: Page 6 and 7
Book Preview: Page 32 and Back Cover
Owls found within the book
Barred Owl
Boreal Owl
Great Gray Owl
Great Horned Owl
Northern Hawk Owl
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Snowy Owl
Other birds found within the book
American Goldfinch
Red-Winged Blackbird
Mammals found within the book
American Beaver
American Mink
Gray Fox
Red Fox
River Otter
Skunk
Snowshoe Hare
White-Tailed Deer
Make certain you also visit my Birding with Children section of this web site. It has ideas and projects which will hep you introduce a child to the world of birds!
