The “Look of Love!”

This face yesterday inspired almost non-stop love songs. My male Great Horned Owl is besotted! Even during the middle of the day he hooted his desire and devotion. I think he is about to get “lucky”!

Welcome to Year #6 of the Amity Owls. Over the past five years I have watched Les and Amy (as in Les for the “Lester River” and Any for “Amity Creek”) raise 10 owlets. They are devoted parents.

This morning I went out hiking again before sunrise this morning. I was hoping my love-struck male Great Horned Owl would start a duet with his sweetheart, which I might video and thus get the song. However, Poppa Owl just half-heartedly hooted a bit, and led me around the forest. Next I hoped the owl might allow me a photograph of it silhouetted against the rising crescent moon. Nope, once again. My owl hid in the top of a white pine and refused to fly to the top of a dead tree like yesterday. Thus, I listened to his occasional hoots and photographed the moon by itself. On the plus side, I did NOT fall on all the refreeeze!

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.

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.