Thursday, April 21, 2011

The Baby Owls are Growing

Mama Owl sitting close to the nest

Yesterday morning, Jo and I went back to the nest to check on the owls. By now, two weeks after we had seen them for the first time, some serious birdwatchers were there all the time, with big binoculars and huge zoom lenses.

But we didn't come unprepared either. Jo had brought her binoculars and I was carrying my DSLR with the bigger zoom, hoping to get better shots of the owls than last time.

And we weren't disappointed.

The babies have grown considerably, so much that their parents cannot share the nest with them any longer. Great Horned Owls don't build their own nests, they usually occupy nests of other birds. This one had been a hawk's nest. So these nests are pretty big, but those owls are big, too. And the babies grow quickly.

One of the babies was so kind to lift its head and look down on us.


You can see how big s/he already is compared to the size of the nest.

Mama Owl perched close to the nest, supervising her young ones as every mom in the world does.


And Papa Owl was sitting in the eucalyptus tree just across the path - perhaps waiting for another crow to get and feed to his offspring (yes, they eat the crows).


I will be back again at the nest, and if I happen to snap a few decent pictures I will post them here.

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11 comments:

Kay L. Davies said...

Oh, wonderful. Great to get a photo of the baby.
I always thought owls ate mice and other small rodents, but I guess if they have to eat birds, I'm glad they eat crows.
A few years ago, I went out the back door to find our deck covered with heads, legs and wings of small songbirds. A pair of Merlin Falcons and their youngster had decided to use our two big trees as their dining room.
I've had very few songbirds in the yard since then. I miss them, but I can hear the Merlins in neighboring trees, so I won't put out feeders to encourage small birds because I don't want Merlins dining here again.
-- K

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

La Vie Quotidienne said...

oh...this is so neat! What a great opportunity to see something unique and rare. Thank you for sharing this with us.

kelly@thebluemuse said...

That is so incredibly cool! What fun it must be to watch them grow.

Marianne said...

Thanks for the update. Great shots. I love the last one. Owls are beautiful !

Anonymous said...

I love the shot of the baby peeping over the side! I would love to be able to see them in real life - it would be amazing!

windrock studio said...

What an honor, Carola, to witness this! I think owls are so cool and those babies are so big already!

patty said...

I think it is so awesome that you have discovered where they live and get to visit and see the progress. What a fabulous opportunity - both photographically and just as a life experience!!

Kathy said...

Wow...they do grow fast. How very cool and great shots too. I'm looking forward to your next visit already :D

Bright blessings,
Kathy

Silvia(Barnie) said...

Schöne Fotos, das war bestimmt ein tolles Erlebnis.
Ich wünsche dir frohe Ostertage.

Orsolina said...

Super Aufnahmen sind die gelungen, und das 'Baby' schaut ganz neugierung vom Nest herunter.

Ich wünsche dir schöne Ostern. Leider gibt es für euch - wie ich gehört habe - keine zusätzlichen Feiertage, wie bei uns.

Zur Zeit haben wir herrliches Wetter, fast wie im Sommer.

foxysue said...

Well, aren't you the lucky ones, getting to see the owl family! I only hear them in the middle of the night hooting!

Sue x