Great Horned Owl Breeding Success

 “They are the pure wild hunters of our world. They are swift and merciless upon the backs of rabbits, mice, voles, snakes, even skunks, even cats sitting in dusky yards, thinking peaceful thoughts.” 

                                                                                         Mary Oliver

    In the days before COVID, (yes, way back then), I used to lead a walk annually for a neighbourhood association and one of the regular participants contacted me to tell me about a pair of Great Horned Owls (Bubo virginianus) nesting in a tree in his neighbour's yard.

     He invited Miriam and me to visit the birds, and has since become a great friend. Some of the images in this blog are his, and some are Miriam's. I will not identify them, nor divulge his name, lest unscrupulous birders and photographers descend on his house like an unwanted swarm of locusts.

     The owlets were already quite far advanced when he discovered them, and a watchful parent was never far away.

     Foolhardy crows may decide to harass the young, but to come too close to an adult is an act of suicidal bravado.

     As is the way with all young Great Horned Owls they outgrow the nest (often an old crow's or hawk's nest) and move out along the branches of the host tree; in fact the colloquial name for the owlets at this stage of their development is "brancher."

     The young birds do not stray far from each other, seeming to derive security and comfort from physical closeness.

     It is not unusual for one of the young to fall out of the nest, or from a branch, and find itself on the ground, an extremely perilous situation. Much to our friend's dismay he was confronted with this circumstance one day.

     As you may see adult plumage is replacing juvenal down, and the beak and talons are already formidable.

     Our friend tossed a blanket over the young bird, and gathered it up quickly, imprisoning its wings against its side, and transferred it to a tree near the river, having a "ramp' to help the bird regain access to a safe perch.

     It worked, and the second youngster made its way to the same tree where they were reunited both with each other, and with their parents.

     Mishaps still may happen, however, and if you look carefully at the following image you will see that one youngster has fallen and grabbed onto a branch from which it is hanging upside down.

     It obviously suffered no harm from this incident because the two owlets have been seen together in the tree, with attentive parents still delivering food.

     Independence is not far behind and we hope that they will live long and prosper and raise healthy families of their own.

"The advances - or, perhaps more correctly the inroads - of a growing civilization will undoubtedly continue well into this century. As a result it seems probable that there will be a slow but steady retreat of Great Horned Owls from many areas, and eventually a general decline in this great owl's population over much of settled North America. Nevertheless, even this may prove less of a threat than once thought, given the ever-increasing observations of Great Horned Owls nesting, foraging and roosting in urban and suburban areas." 

                                      Dwight G. Smith (2002)

     

     We earnestly hope so. It has been a privilege to share in the lives of this family; may we see many more.

A Check on the Great Horned Owls and Other Observations

 8 April 2022 

     We intend to make regular checks on the Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) nest, and will post pictures so that you can monitor the progress of the owlets along with us.

     This morning, a week after seeing the nest for the first time, there was a noticeable difference in the appearance of the youngsters. They have grown and are rapidly acquiring their feathers; in fact, at first we thought that there was only one bird in the nest, and  were sad to contemplate that the other might have come to a bad end.

     The nest seems unusually small for a bird this size, and we considered the possibility that one of the owlets had fallen over the side of the nest.

     We were greatly relieved, however, when looking at the nest from the rear we saw that two birds were present, perched back-to-back.

     One owlet is smaller than its sibling and was completely blocked when first we saw the nest.

     A loud chorus of agitated American Crows (Corvus brachyrynchos) led us to the location of one of the adults, perched at a discreet distance from the nest, but able to offer protection if needed.

     After enjoying their company for about fifteen to twenty minutes (they were completely indifferent to us!) we bade them farewell with a promise to return next week. By then they may be out of the nest exploring branches. 

5 April, 2022

Benjamin Park Trail, Waterloo, ON

     Recently municipal by-laws were changed to permit people living in subdivisions to have chickens in their backyard.

     We were delighted to see that someone had taken advantage of the situation and had installed a chicken coop, and the domestic variant of Gallus gallus was wandering at will.

     This is an ideal location because the houses back onto a natural area and the fowl are free to scratch in the soil as they would in their native habitat.  We watched them rolling in the dirt in sheer pleasure, presumably dislodging ectoparasites in the process.

     An Eastern Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) was keenly alert to the new goings-on in his neighbourhood.

     American Robin (Turdus migratorius), always common, seems to be exceptionally abundant this year.

     This tree in an advanced state of decay bears the marks of wood-boring insects that have invaded the cambium.

     They give the impression of contour lines on a topographical map.

     Robins, among all the birds that we see, seem to take inordinate joy from bathing.

     It's always great to see a Hairy Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus).

5 April, 2022

Mill Race Trail, St. Jacobs, ON

     Tuesday walks, known as "Rambles with David" are ostensibly about birding, but have morphed more into a social event, a gabfest in fact, with little attention paid to the birds.

     Here are a few highlights from the Mill Race Trail.

White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)

 

Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinensis)

Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)

Lily

     And here is what so many of you have been waiting for - new pictures of Lily.

     In just two months she will be two years old. What a princess she has become!

A Two-Owl Day

A wise old owl sat in an oak,

The more he saw the less he spoke,

The less he spoke the more he heard.

Why can't we all be like that wise old bird?

                                                 Anon.

03 April, 2022

Great Horned Owl

     We were alerted to the presence of a Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) nest, with young, in Kitchener, and set off to see it.

     

     This large, powerful owl is ubiquitous throughout North America, from the Arctic to Central America, and in South America south to Brazil and Central Argentina.

Tuesday Rambles with David - Mountsberg Conservation Area

08 November 2016

     Mounstberg C.A. lies southwest of Milton, ON and was the location chosen for this week's Ramble with David, our regular Tuesday outing. 

     I had not been there previously so Mary Voisin who is quite familiar with this location graciously scouted it out before the day of the hike, and her diligence contributed in no small measure to the enjoyment of a very fine day together.

     The day was quite overcast and visibility across Mountsberg Lake was not especially good, but the lake harboured a wide variety of waterfowl, and other species were spotted by checking the trees along the shore.

   Despite the poor light Franc was able to capture this remarkable shot of a Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis plunging into the water.

     The combination of distance and gloomy light was challenging but the following images will at least give an idea of the variety of waterfowl present, as well as the prolific number of some species. 

     There was a very large congregation of America Coot Fulica americana, a species not always easy to find in southern Ontario. We were very pleased when we first saw a few of this species but as we scanned around the lake we realized there were many more.

     Not to be outdone American Wigeon Anas americana had a substantial presence also.

     If you look carefully at the picture above you can see a female Ring-necked Duck Aythya collaris swimming between a male and female American Wigeon.

     There were many Hooded Mergansers Lophodytes cucullatus, alas none was close enough to obtain terrific pictures, but the following shot at least gives an idea of the sheer numbers of this very handsome species.

     Far out across the lake, on the opposite shore an adult Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus was perched majestically, surveying his (her) realm. Bald Eagles feed primarily on fish, but as part of the lake ices over they will readily turn their attention to the waterfowl present. An injured Mallard Anas platyrynchos quickly becomes a fine meal for a hungry Bald Eagle.

     We first heard and then saw this Hairy Woodpecker Picoides villosus hammering away at a tree.

     Dark-eyed Juncos Junco hyemalis were quite common and Franc captured this image of an individual in a tree, just before it took off like a missile hurtling through the air.

     Based purely on my own observations Cedar Waxwings Bombycilla cedrorum have had a very good breeding season this year and we saw lots of juvenile birds feeding on the abundant berry crops. The sheer volume of berries of various kinds seems to auger well for a winter with ample food for this resident species.

     An American Red Squirrel Tamiasciurus hudsonicus seemed to be doing his stretching exercises.

     Mountsberg C.A. is a large area comprised of several different habitats, all enjoyable, and I will look forward to returning at different times of the year to observe the seasonality of the bird life.

     This Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias was stalking its prey in an offshoot of the lake which formed a kind of discrete wetland.

     Carol was perched at one of the openings in the blind to get as good a view as possible.

     In this shot Mary seems to be explaining something to the others - some of them are even paying attention!

     Look at this fine group of women - great birding companions all; fine company under any circumstances, in fact.

Carol, Mary, Miriam, Francine

     One of the very important missions of Mountsberg C.A. is the rescue, rehabilitation and care of injured raptors.

     Birds that have been injured due to various causes - collisions with vehicles, errant bullets from careless hunters, etc. are nursed back to health, and if possible released back into the wild. For those birds for whom this is not possible, they are housed in spacious enclosures and cared for for the rest of their lives. They can be used for captive breeding purposes and some are used as educational birds also. While all of us would prefer for the birds to be wild and free, I applaud this effort to care for them and to have them educate the public, especially children, thereby engendering a new respect for, and empathy with, birds of prey.

     The following images by Miriam and Franc show just some of the species housed at Mountsberg. It is really quite fabulous to be able to observe these birds at close range.

Great Horned Owl

Great Horned Owl

Snowy Owl

Barn Owl

Golden Eagle

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle

Peregrine Falcon

Gyrfalcon

Gyrfalcon

Merlin

Turkey Vulture

Turkey Vulture

     As always it was a superb way to spend the day with great birding and great companions. I think this little "gang of eight" may be doing this forever!