This is the time of year to start listening for your local owls up here in the Northland. These two Great Horned Owls were hooting their love on the northern edge of Duluth during a duet 35 minutes before sunrise this morning. The sky colors are accurate … we actually had clear skies before dawn for the first time in a looonnng time this morning.
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The male is on the right in the photo, and you are clearly able to see that it is smaller than the female. Great Horned Owls are the first owls to nest (within the next few days to a bit later), and the other species of owls will soon follow. This year’s mild winter may result in earlier nesting than most years. The reason owls nest in the winter is it allows their young to gain proficiency at hunting, which is a difficult task, as other animals and birds (their prey) have their young in the Summer.
