The Cornell School of Ornithology wanted to study and learn how North American birds reacted to this week’s eclipse. Would Amy, Momma Great Horned Owl who lives near Lake Superior think night was near and start her evening hoot / hunt? We will never know!
Day #6 (since Easter Morning first appearance)
The days leading up to the eclipse were warm and sunny.
The owlets now may be left by themselves while both parents hunt at sunrise and sunset. Momma tends to still be nearby on guard duty. She returns to the nest later each morning. These are still young owlets.
Day #8 ( since Easter Morning first appearance)
Lake Superior decided Cornell did NOT need to study Great Horned Owls! Rain reigned supreme, and Amy needed to keep her owlets warm and dry.
It is fun to watch the owlets grow up. It is less than one week since they said hello to the world. The routine seems to be stay under Mom till the sun finally reaches the nest in the very late morning. Finally at dinner time, Mom leaves to hunt.
Day #4
Two images taken from a different location / perspective
My lack of posting has nothing to do with not taking photographs. I am having a fantastic time and visit the nest location frequently. Although I only saw one owlet on Easter, on Days #1 and Days #2 (Easter being Day #0) I noticed that Momma Owl (Amy) was definitely sitting on the nest using a dramatically different position. I figured she had to be keeping multiple owlets warm! The weather on those days fell to the overnight lows in the teens, and never budged above the mid 20’s during the day. Although sunshine was back in the Northland, it was to cold for young owlets to face the world. Believe me, I looked!
However, at sunset on Day #3, I was extremely surprised that Momma Owl was off the nest (hunting to help feed young owlets) and I confirmed that there were at least two owlets! While it is too early to confirm for certain, I think the Amity Owls have two youngsters this year. It is always possible there is still an even smaller owlet hiding deep within the nest.
Going forward, I will try to add brief text or comments which note how many days it has been since Easter which was the day when the Great Horned Owlets first faced the world. In addition, if I say it is Day #3, one needs to add 8 to 10 days to get the oldest owlet’s true age … the day it was born (not appeared). In this manner you will be able to easily compared the owlets growth over time. The image filename will also reflect the age since the owlets first appearance in days. Finally, If you wish to review past owl posts, select the location tag, or MN North: Amity. This tag may also load some unrelated posts. Remember this tag is used for Amity Creek.
Amity Great Horned Owlets: Day #3 – Hello World!
Early in the morning on Day #3
Just After Sundown on Day #3
And a short video of that first evening … includes a crow attack, both Les and Amy hooting (hard to hear over the sound of Amity Creek which is running fast due to our recent blizzard), and an appearance by the second owlet. This video is longer than I normally create, but I wanted the record for myself … 1 minute 20 seconds running time … video link for email subscribers)
Les And Amy’s owlets learn about the Real World!
Should you discover the location of the nest, please do not post the location or photographs to social media. I am also following this guideline. This will help protect the owlets.
