They're Back!!!

 If you’ve been following our blog over the past year you may know the story of the Great Horned Owls who managed to fledge two chicks in St. Charles County under some truly adverse conditions last year.

We published this ten part series (called Tales From The Nest) in April, May and June of 2011.  If you missed it and would like to read the whole series, enter Tales From The Nest in the search box in the upper left-hand corner of this page.  

About three weeks ago I stopped by the nest tree to see if perhaps they had returned to use this same nest again this year.  At that time there was no sign of any nest activity (at least that I could see from about 200 feet away and 80 feet below the nest). 

I happened to talk to the neighbor next door to the property on which the nest is located.  He said that he hadn’t seen any nest activity, but that he had been hearing the owls at night, so we knew they were still in the area.

Yesterday I did another drive-by—this time with a good pair of binoculars.  Lo and behold when I got the binoculars focused, there staring at me over the edge of the nest was Mamma.  Of course, there is no way of knowing for sure if this is the same pair that used the nest last year—but it is a very strong likelihood. 

Last year’s pair managed to raise two chicks in spite of freezing temperatures, heavy downpours, hail, snow, and tornadic winds that damaged much of the surrounding area.  In fact, by my calculations the tornado that closed Lambert St. Louis Airport for several days had to have passed directly over the nest. 

Hopefully this year’s pair will have a less traumatic nesting season.

Submitted by Gay Schroer, World Bird Sanctuary Volunteer/Photographer

Tales From the Nest – Part 4 – 4/9-4/13

 4/9 & 10

Due to other commitments I was unable to visit the nest over the weekend.  I can’t wait to see how much these rapidly growing chicks have changed in this short space of time.

4/11

We had severe thunderstorms and rain most of the night with winds gusting to 37 mph, and I am worried that the bad weather may have damaged the nest.  Even though it is still raining I can’t contain myself any longer. The suspense is killing me.  I arrive at the nest and see no activity.  Are they still in there, and if so are they OK?  I settle back and wait for what seems an eternity (in actuality—probably only 10-15 minutes). 

 One very wet baby owl 

Finally I see one small and very drenched head pop up over the edge of the nest. They survived the thunderstorm!  I take a couple of quick shots of our rather comical looking baby—all the while trying to protect my camera gear from the rain.  My fears allayed, I head for my nice dry home, thankful that I am not an owl today sitting in the rain in an open top nest.

4/12 

Today I arrive at the nest to find Mom and only one baby visible.  Even though I sit and watch for over an hour I see no other activity.  Is the other baby OK?  Did it succumb to yesterday’s storm?

 Mamma and one baby

Our homeowner has graciously offered to let me look for owl pellets in his yard if I am so inclined.  I’ve combed the area under the tree, but found only one pellet.  Unfortunately for me the yard has been raked to clean up Sweetgum balls and I believe any pellets were picked up along with the offending Sweetgum balls.

 The only pellet I found - note the bones sticking out of it

I will return again tomorrow to see if there is still a second baby in the nest.

4/13

On arriving at the nest today I am thankful to find both babies visible and very active.

Today the younger chick is exhibiting more curiosity and becoming bolder about peering over the edge of the nest.

The feather tufts are becoming more prominent on the older chick. Many people think these tufts are ears, but in fact they are simply tufts of feathers, which can indicate the bird’s “mood”.  When the bird is relaxed they may lay down flat against it’s head and be almost invisible.  However, if the bird is curious, feels threatened, or is simply on alert due to something strange in it’s environment, these tufts of feather may stand straight up. 

I watch these youngsters play for a while until they settle down into the nest—probably for a nap after all their strenuous activity.

Check back again for more Tales From The Nest.

Submitted by Gay Schroer, World Bird Sanctuary Volunteer/Photographer

TALES FROM THE NEST PART 3 – 4/6-4/8

4/6

As I take up my station this morning I find Mamma sitting on a stout branch just above and to the right of the nest. 

  

 No babies visible this morning.  I have only an hour to spend at the nest this morning, and just as I am about to leave I am rewarded with the top of a downy little head just barely visible over the edge of the nest.

 I leave Mamma to her guard duty. 

4/7 – My schedule makes it impossible to visit the nest today.

4/8 – No babies visible today as I pull up to my spot—only Mamma who is sitting on the nest

  

 Winds are gusting between 10-15 mph, and there was a light rain earlier in the morning.  I am guessing this is enough to prompt mom to keep the babies warm and dry. 

As I watch I spot a Red-tailed Hawk that comes zooming in on a direct beeline toward the nest.  As it reaches the outermost branches of the big old pine tree that holds the nest it suddenly spots the occupants and does a quick “Abort Mission”.  It circles the nest about three times and then flies off to a tree across the road to think the situation over.  Could this be one of the hawks that built the nest last year?  Perhaps—but if so, it had a big surprise waiting for it this year.

  

Our hawk takes off from its safe retreat and circles the pine tree twice this time.  It apparently decides that it wants no part of what’s in that nest, and flies off. 

I watch for a while longer but see no activity.  Several of the neighbors stop to chat and ask about what’s going on in the nest.  I hand out several photos and then decide it’s time to leave.

Check again soon for more Tales From The Nest

Submitted by Gay Schroer, World Bird Sanctuary Volunteer/Photographer

Tales From The Nest - Part 2 - 4/5

On arriving back at the Great Horned Owl nest after dropping my granddaughter off at school, I am rewarded with the sight of Mamma Owl vigilantly standing guard at the side of the nest while one baby stands tall, and curiously checks out everything in sight. 

Is that another baby at the lower left corner?  

At this point I’m still not sure if there is more than one baby, but think I can see a clump of downy feathers just peeping over the edge of the nest on the lower left.  Is there another one?  I’ve talked to the neighbors, but they’re not sure how many there are.  The gentleman who owns the property where the tree is located tells me that he found an egg on the ground that contained a partially developed embryo, so we know that at least one baby didn’t make it.  Great Horned Owls can lay from 1 to 5 eggs (5 being very rare).  The usual number is 2—so there is a good chance that there is only one owlet in this nest.  However I am still hopeful because of that suspicious clump of down in the lower left hand corner of the photo.

Yes--There is another baby?  Are there more? Only time will tell.  

As I sit and watch, the clump of down moves and materializes into a second baby.  It’s obvious that this one is considerably younger than the first.  He seems weaker and less coordinated than his big brother. Because it is so cold at the time of nesting, incubation begins immediately after each egg is laid.  As a consequence the eggs hatch in sequence, which gives the first hatchling a size advantage over its siblings.  If food is scarce the largest will out-compete the others for food that the parents bring back to the nest and only one may survive.  I can only hope that the male owl of this pair is a good provider. 

 Both babies checking out their new world 

The older of the two babies begins moving about, exploring the nest and stretching his wings.  After about fifteen minutes of this exhausting activity they both retire into the bowels of the nest—probably for a long nap as Mamma stands guard.

 "Hmmm...Now if I could just figure out what to do with these things...." 

I have by now become friendly with most of the neighbors, who are all fascinated with their own private version of Animal Planet.  As they leave for work in the morning they usually stop to chat and inquire about what’s going on in the nest this morning. 

When I asked the property owner if I could search the area under the tree for owl pellets he was most gracious and was curious to find out what exactly they are.  Since owls swallow their prey whole, the owl pellets are the indigestible parts of an owl’s prey—hair, fur and bones--which are then regurgitated (spit out) as pellets or castings.  Our homeowner told me that he had found a really large pellet in his yard last week that contained a large, blue, bird foot—similar to, but larger than a chicken’s.  I can only guess at what prey may have fallen victim to our owl, since they have been known to occasionally take prey as large as a Great Blue Heron, although their usual prey group are small to medium sized mammals.

After watching for about an hour and a half I decide its time for me to call it a day if I am to accomplish anything else that day.  (Owl watching can be addictive.)

Check back again soon for more “Tales From The Nest”.

Submitted by Gay Schroer, World Bird Sanctuary Volunteer/Photographer

Tales From The Nest – Part 1 – 4/3 & 4

The call came on a Friday morning, just as I was packing to leave for a weekend Girl Scout Camp.

Great Horned Owl nest in a pine tree about 60-80 feet above ground

When my husband stopped in to visit a good friend on Friday morning, the friend showed him a nest in the top of a pine tree across the street from his house.  Originally, the nest had been built by a pair of Red Tailed Hawks last year.  This year, however, it had been taken over by squatters—a pair of Great Horned Owls!   Great Horned Owls don’t usually do much in the way of nest building.  Most of the time they will take over a tree cavity or an existing nest that was built by a large bird such as a hawk.  They will usually embellish it with some new twigs, pine boughs, or feathers.

Normally, I would have grabbed my camera and immediately jumped in my van and headed for the nest.  However, that particular day I was scheduled to pick up my troop of Girl Scouts and leave for camp within the hour.  The owls would just have to wait until I got back.  I have to admit that even though we had a great campout, those owls were on my mind the entire weekend.

As soon as I walked in the door on Sunday I persuaded my husband to show me where the nest was located.  The location was great!  Not only was the nest clearly visible if you knew where to look, but it could easily be photographed from inside my van, which made a great blind.   These are semi-urban owls who have nested in a residential neighborhood close to some open fields, and they are accustomed to the neighborhood vehicles coming and going at all hours. 

Here's Mamma!

Since the temperature that day was still a bit chilly with a brisk wind blowing, the owls were hunkered down in the nest.  You could just see the top of Mamma Owl’s head, with only her feather tufts and one suspicious eye showing to identify her.  Since the midday light would not make for good photographs, I vowed to return the next morning, if the weather was more cooperative, to see if there was more activity.

Bright and early the next morning I was stationed in my “blind” (my trusty Dodge minivan) and  had my camera and long lens at the ready.  Soon I was rewarded with the sight of Mamma peering over the edge of the nest. 

Mamma is on guard and ever watchful

Now anyone who photograph’s wildlife knows that a successful day is usually a lot of sitting and seeing nothing.  If you’re lucky you might be rewarded with brief periods of actual wildlife sightings.  This was the case with our Owls.  After sitting with camera ready for what seemed like an eternity I suddenly saw one downy little head pop up at the edge of the nest.   He stayed visible just long enough for me to fire off about thirty photos, and then he hunkered back down in the nest.  Was there only one baby?  Only time would tell.  From the looks of him they would be pretty young. 

Up popped a downy little bundle of mischief

Since the light was changing enough to make any further photos undesirable, I decided to call it a day and return again tomorrow.  Besides, I was beginning to get strange looks from the neighbors, who I’m sure were considering calling the police about the person with the pretty obvious camera taking photos in their neighborhood.   I decided to return the next morning and try again—perhaps armed with some decent photos to pass out to the neighbors to let them know I wasn’t a burglar casing the neighborhood.

Check back again for more “Tales From The Nest”.

Submitted by Gay Schroer, World Bird Sanctuary Volunteer/Photographer