A Right of Spring: Growing Baby Owls In My Yard

Comments Below: 2

It's become an annual rite of spring around my house.  I live in the woods on top of a hill in Greater Flintstone.  My closest neighbor is a couple of Barred Owls.

They nest each year in a ring of old Oak trees that surround my house.  This year, they picked a hole that's just 20 feet outside my bedroom window.

That means I hear a lot of loud hooting at all hours of the night from February through the Spring.  But it's worth it just to see what emerges from the hole sometime in late April.

This year, I got 2 chicks and here are the pictures (the owls come out just before dark, so I had to boost the brightness to pull the owls out of the shadows).

When the chicks grow large enough, they push Mom out of the nest to a nearby branch. When they leave the nest for the first time, she anxiously watches over them, ready to pounce on anything that even looks at her babies.

It took weeks to locate just where the owls were nesting, even though it was 20 feet from the house. But after a couple of months, this little head popped out.. the 1st of 2 chicks.

Out of the nest. The oldest is 2 days out of the nest and already exploring. Mom and Dad are still feeding it.

Owlette Vs Squirrel: A squirrel (not seen) is trying to chase the Chick out of his tree, by chattering and waving it's tail. The Owlette stands it's ground by staring back and raising it's wings to look tougher.

Mom watches over the Squirrel Confrontation, just in case.

Finally, the second owlette emerges. Their first steps are generally a short flight to a nearby branch, where they spend a day just flapping their wings, building strength. This chick spent all night climbing this tree, and then rested all day.

 

---

Now, several weeks later, I can still hear the owl family hooting in my front yard.  The chicks will hang around for awhile before they finally move out on their own.  But now they stay hidden in the leaves.  You only get a few days to see them, from the time they first stick their heads out of the nest, til they fly off for good.

 

So now I can concentrate on those Hawk chicks that have just emerged on their next on the side of the hill.