NOT LITTLE ANYMORE

Juvenile Great Horned Owl, Mississippi River, Mud Lake, Iowa ---------    

I made an early visit to Mud Lake this morning and came back with nothing. Looking for the branchling between all the leaves is like searching a needle in a hay stack. My photography friend Linda went later in the day to the same place and spotted the owlet successfully. I finally went back in the afternoon and found the young Great Horned Owl sitting on a branch in a large cluster of maple trees, the same spot Linda had described in an email to me. I’m very thankful to her for sending me the message.

I guess we shouldn’t call the owlet “little” anymore. It’s hard to believe it was only 37 days between the photos from today and my first shot of the young bird in the picture below. The click above was made when the bird turned its head and had an eye on our little dog Cooper, who sat quietly in the grass below. Maybe there were some thoughts about a future meal… Looking at its big claws leaves me without any doubts that this owl will be a great predator.

First sighting, March 28, 2017 (image cropped)

SPRING BIRDS UPDATE

The Male House Wrens sing and try to attract the females since April 21, 2017. Today a female wren inspected both floors at one of the nest boxes, and the male was probably praising how good of a place that would be for raising a family.

I like to photograph small birds any time of the year but spring is probably the most rewarding time. Most birds look at their best because it’s also mating season and during that time some species don’t care so much about the presence of a photographer because their mind is of course somewhere else. I love the light that we have when the first leaves just come out here in our woods. Yes, the sun can be powerful and make it harsh sometime but I love how crisp things appear under the spring sun.

Today new bird arrivals can be reported. We saw the first hummingbird at one of our feeders. The Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, males and females, are here since yesterday, and a male Scarlet Tanager was present today for the first time this season as well.

Chipping Sparrow, arrived already April, 21, 2017

So, what about the young Great Horned down at the Mississippi River? I was there Monday night during a rain shower and the nest was empty. It took me just about five minutes to find the owlet, now called a “branchling”, in a tall tree next to the nest. Other birders and photographers had sent me updates and photos today (thank you Linda and Kevin!). I will try to locate the owl tomorrow again, but with the leaves growing rapidly it’s going to be a challenge as always during an owls branch hopping stage.

Female Purple Finch, has still not left for their summer grounds up in northern Minnesota and Canada.

GREAT HORNED OWLS, EMPTY NEST

Owlet #1

I received an email this morning from another photographer (Thank you Ken!), telling me that yesterday he found the nest of the Great Horned Owls down at the Mississippi River empty. I replied that they might just be hunkered down in the nest because of the cold and wet weather we have at the moment. I just learned that owl feathers are not waterproof and rain can impact their ability to fly noiselessly, which can be trouble for an adult during the breeding season because they cannot hunt. Wet feathers lead also to a higher loss of body heat, which could be a thread for the owlets. However, I had to check it out during my lunch break today.

Owlet #1

As Ken already reported, I found the nest empty. It took me about half an hour until I discovered one of the owlets sitting on a big branch in a tree about 50 yards to the east from the nest. I took several pictures from both sides of the tree. Because of their ability to turn the head by 270 degree, owlet #1 had an eye on me most of the time without moving the rest of the body. The wind was blowing hard and getting an unobstructed view was a challenge because branches and leaves were swaying around the whole time.

Owlet #2,  All images: Nikon D750, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens, tripod, Induro GHB2 gimbal head, Nikon SB 800 speed light, Better Beamer flash extender

I scanned every tree and branch around with my eyes in search for #1’s sibling. I just couldn’t find it. Ready to give up and go back to work I suddenly saw owlet #2 sitting upright in the tree next to me and only a few yards away. It was probably watching me the whole time while I tried to find it and laughed its head off…

It’s great to see that the young Great Horned Owls started branch hopping. Pretty soon they will learn to fly and they may stay with the adults until fall. The leaves in the tress grow rapidly and it will become very difficult to find the owlets again. I’m very happy that we can see two owlets, instead of just one, for the first time during the last four years.

TIME FOR BRANCH HOPPING

Nikon D750, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM, tripod, gimbal head

My website and blog has always been about sharing knowledge with other people that own a camera and try to get the best out of it. Sharing wildlife encounters and the locations where to find wildlife is part of it. Other photographers do the same and so we all benefit from each other one way or the other.

Last night I received an email from my photography friend Linda, telling me that the little owlet had left the nest at Mud Lake down at the Mississippi River. After a young Great Horned Owl leaves the nest they usually stick still around for a while. During this period of so called “branch hopping” they are still fed by the parents but it is not necessarily the same tree where the nest is located. And here starts the problem for the avid birder or photographer. The fresh leaves on the trees come out at the moment and every day it becomes a little more difficult to find the tree and the branch where the young owl spends the day.

My neck got already soar after wandering around and scanning every tree near the nest with my eyes for 45 minutes. Almost ready to give up for today I finally discovered the owl in a tree near the nest I had looked at several times before. They really blend in well. For the next 50 minutes I had an unobstructed view to a subject that turned the head once in a while and opened and closed its eyes for the most. Other than that, it was all about watching the light of the setting sun and playing with every possible setting on my new Nikon D750.

It always amazes me how fast they grow. I discovered the female Great Horned Owl sitting on the nest February 15th, saw the young owl March 16th for the first time, and now it has left the nest already. As I wrote here in the blog before, this happened for the third year in a row, but it is, at least for me, one of the most fascinating wildlife stories that unfolds here in the Mississippi Valley. Special thanks to Linda for sharing the information with me!