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It’s been a couple of years since I posted images of Great Horned Owls. But if the past two years have been famine for me, this year has been a feast in large measure due to the support of my friend Dan. I’ve photographed three different Great Horned Owl nesting sites and have obtained dozens of images of these magnificent raptors and their offspring. I will be introducing you to these owl families over the course of the next couple of weeks. I have a lot of images to post, but these are, in my opinion, very descriptive and the subjects are outstanding.
Great Horned Owls are the rulers of the nighttime skies throughout North America. These large birds of prey — a big female can weigh up to about three pounds (up to about 1.35 kilos) — are apex predators. They are surprisingly common. I say “surprisingly” because they have perfected the ability to remain nearly invisible. One almost never sees them at night, when they hunt. In daylight, they are masters of camouflage and concealment, perching silently, often amid dense foliage, obscured from view. It’s likely that far more people have heard these owls utter their classic hooting calls than have actually seen them.
It’s breeding season right now for these owls in the Sonoran Desert. Great Horned Owls do not build nests. They appropriate the nests of other birds such as those of Red-tailed Hawks. Or, they find places to lay and incubate their eggs that are suitable if a bit counterintuitive. One of the owl families that I have followed this year chose the crown of a tall palm tree as a place to incubate eggs and rear offspring. I’ve been told that Great Horned Owls once nested in a flower pot in the garden center of a local Home Depot.
They are cosmopolitan birds, living comfortably in close proximity to humans. Two of the nest sites that I visited are in the yards of suburban homes in the Tucson area.
There is a definite division of labor among Great Horned Owl parents. The mother owl incubates her eggs and stays with her offspring for much of the initial weeks after hatching. The father hunts and provides for his family.
The images of adult owls in today’s post are of mothers. I’ll include images of the fathers along with more images of the mothers in future posts.
When the offspring are very young (young owls are known as “owlets”) the mother will remain in physical contact with them, covering them with her body or perching in the nesting site. As the owlets grow, this becomes impossible. Gradually, the mother will perch further away from her owlets. At first, she will remain very close to her offspring, but in time she may move to a nearby tree or other perch that is within line of sight of the nest site.
Owlets are very cute. They are also curious about their environment. On several occasions I’ve seen owlets watching me every bit as closely as I’m watching them.
Although adult Great Horned Owls are not subject to being preyed upon, their offspring are vulnerable to predators. A mother owl perching close by her nest site is a formidable presence, capable of fighting off most would-be predators. Look closely at this next image. Those huge feet and talons are a powerful weapon. A Great Horned Owl can exert five times the grip strength of the strongest human and her inch long and razor sharp talons can at the least cause serious damage to a would-be predator.
I will devote at least one future post to the owlets as they leave their nest site. I also have some pretty nice images of the adults made as they watch over their families or range out into the desert to hunt for food.
Images made with a Canon R5. First image made with a Canon EF 400 DO II IS lens+Canon EF 1.4x telextender. Remaining images made with a Canon RF 100-500mm f4.5-7.1 IS L zoom lens+Canon RF 1.4x telextender. All images, M setting, (auto ISO). First image, ISO 1250, f5.6 @ 1/125, +2 1/3 stops exposure compensation. Second image, ISO 1000, f9 @ 1/1600, +1/3 stop exposure compensation. Third and fifth images, ISO 1000, f10 @ 1/320, +1 stop exposure compensation. Fourth image, ISO 500, f10 @ 1/250, +1/3 stop exposure compensation.
Sonoran Images 