From the Contact Station June 2017

Great Horned Owls reappear on the River 'S'

Our Great Horned Owls seemed to disappear for a while this winter on the River S Auto Tour. For the early winter, we pretty much knew how to find up to five owls on a good day drive around. Then around February they were scarce. Owls are early nesters compared to other birds like the songbirds we see now and the rails in our wetlands. Once the eggs are laid, the female stays on the nest while the male brings her food at night.

Owls nest in many places including tree crotches, squirrel nests, crevices in rocks and sometimes they take over a Red-tailed Hawk nest. But they will also nest in tree cavities, which is probably what happened with our River S owls as we never did find a nest anywhere this season. Most commonly, the owls will lay two eggs, though there can be up to four. Incubation of the eggs can last 30 to 37 days. Once hatched, they do a lot of growing in their first six weeks of life. When they emerge from the nest at about 40 days, they are good climbers and can move along a close branch. By then, they have grown to about 75% of their parent’s weight. Our one set of owlets was spotted around the first week of May this year. The fluffy juveniles were seen together just beyond number 9 post, while the adult could usually be found nearby. We know that everyone wants to see these wonderful birds, but at this time, it is so important not to disturb them to the point that the parent won’t feed them. Any owlet viewing should be done with this in mind. Quietly and unobtrusively, get your look or your photo and move on.

As the feathers become stronger, at about 47 days from hatching, the juvenile owls can fly. First flights are tentative and of short distances. They tire easily with the effort so spend most of their early days roosting. They tend to continue to stay together for several weeks, expanding their movements over time just as we see with ours who have been moving between posts number 9 and 10. On a recent Sunday, one adult was along the Kiwa to the left while the two juveniles were sitting on a branch nearer to number 10 post. The adults will roost farther from the young as the weeks pass, probably to avoid all the begging! Juveniles start hunting small prey about six weeks after hatching although adults will bring some food to the young a couple months after fledging. But before the start of the new breeding season at the end of the year, our new owlets will be off on their own looking for a territory to call home.  So, enjoy our new additions while you can.