Tag: baby great horned owl

A fuzzy captivator

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photography4 Comments

In mid-May I was still visiting the baby great horned owl at the nearby park.  He (or she) was getting big but still had all that fuzz.

It was warm this morning and he was panting. It’s captivating watching him just sitting and looking around.

He was doing his morning stretches.

His swivel head was activated.

He turned around and faced the other direction. Everyone scooted over to see him and he was watching us move.

Both parents were nearby. Mom was on a branch just over baby and was looking down on him. Dad was high up in a tree hanging over the parking lot.

Saturday's Critters

Leftovers for dinner

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

I was back at Philippe Park to see the great horned owl baby in early May. The baby was sleeping so I walked around for a while and saw a lone female blue grosbeak.

Far out in the bay I could see a dolphin swimming by the park.

A pelican takes off.

Finally the baby owl woke up and everyone started snapping away. The area was all roped off near the tree so we were standing pretty far away.  You needed to be far anyway to see the baby in the nest.

Was she giving Mom a kiss? Or letting her know she was hungry?

Mom started digging around in the nest and picked up a part of a rabbit. I guess they were having leftovers for dinner.

It was pretty amazing to watch Mom feeding the hungry baby.

A little later Mom pulled up a rat to eat. This is why it’s so important not to use rat poison. An owl can eat several rats a day and many more when they are feeding their babies. They are the nature’s best rat control. If they eat a rat that had eaten rat poison the owl will die as well.

Saturday's Critters

Almost grown up

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photographyLeave a comment

One of the parents keeping an eye on the kids.

“Mom, I’m hungry!”

“Big brother, you better come down from there. Mom’s here with breakfast.”

“Lady, are you going to watch us eat?”

“I guess he’s not coming down so we’ll eat without him.”

“Yum”

 

The older baby had climbed to the very top of the tree and was sleeping in the moss so the youngest was all alone on the nest.  Mom came down for a while and fed it. Not sure what they were eating, rabbit or squirrel?

“Peek A Boo” from the other side of the tree.

They grow up so fast. These were taken in late March, the last time I saw the babies on the nest. Not long after this the oldest was already moving to other trees. Hopefully we’ll see new babies next winter.

A baby hooter

On By dinajohnstonIn bird photography3 Comments

This beautiful great horned owl was posing so nicely.

The other adult was in another part of the tree and all fluffed up since it was a little chilly that morning.

Oh look! It’s a baby just waking up.

The parent started feeding the baby.

Mom was watching that bug flying close by while the baby was eating.

After breakfast it looks like they are both ready for a nap.

Owls are not too cute when they are first born. This little one was making the strangest faces. Once they get a little bigger and can sit up on the branch they are very curious about everything around them. It’s funny to watch the faces they make. This couple only had one baby.