As the Winter winds down there’s no plans for any sort of Snowy Owl trips planned.
This season seemed to be very hit and miss as far as sightings…not being able to count on an owl being in the same location twice.
I have no idea why…some years are just like that.
Bottom line is…you take the Good Years with the Bad Years.
Saint Patrick’s Day Surprise and hard to believe…yes, a pair of Great Horned Owlets.
Great Horned Owls are the earliest of nesters being found on a nest mid-February and March.
Incubation period is around 30-35 days…the owlets will be out of the nest but remain in the nest tree around 6 weeks old
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Like all young they are unable to hunt and rely on the adults to be feed them…they do like rabbits among other things.
From what I witnessed these owls are now able to fly…though their landing skills look somewhat miscalculated and funny to watch.
My best guesstimate would be the eggs had been laid in mind December.
I’m sure this early nesting will be a Manitoba record.
Recently had been out in search of nesting Great Horned Owls…since I was in the area it only made sense to check for a much smaller owl.
This Eastern Screech Owl much to my surprise was nestled into the same cavity that I had seen last fall… truly the Masters of Camouflage.
These owls are monogamous and usually become active late in the day just before sunset. This could very well be a location where the pair nest…will have to keep that in-mind.
Couldn’t help but think of the line from the movie Bambi when I took this photo…wake up, wake up friend owl.