I'm a sucker for baby animals... and baby birds with all their awkward homeliness have an even bigger place in my heart. There is something so fragile and yet so strong about them.
Momma often has to build her own house, sit on her precious eggs to keep them warm in what is one of the more challenging times of year and then protect these tiny, bald and blind children while still making time for self care - like eating and drinking - if hubby is more of a one-night-stand kinda "bio-dad".
Luckily for great horned owls, the dad is more than just a sperm donor; he can be found feeding his mate as she incubates and is quite good at doing little fly-bys to drop off food that momma feeds herself and the kids with.
Owlets need meat. Not just worms... like rabbit, mouse or "other" critter. The survival of these babes is dependent on mom being a good protector, good provider and good teacher too. If they can't hit the ground gently and fend for themselves in short order, they will become the dinner that someone else's mom (or dad) brings back to their growing family.
March 31:
I started regularly visiting a particular nest in east Boulder. Rumour had it that great horned momma had triplets that she was rearing. Cute, downy, grey-beige babies in a grey-beige tree trunk!
They appear to have two modes; Awake and hungry or sleepy and hunkered down to ride out the snow/hail/sleet/wind/rain together.
Mom is an attentive thorough and protective parent who is burning the candle at both ends to make sure all three are thriving.
And she is BEAUTIFUL!
Dad is around too. A smaller but equally beautiful specimen. He flies under the radar but is a valuable member of the family and they are grateful he is a good provider.
April 5:
This afternoon (for the second time this week) I could have sworn there were 4 babies. Quadruplets! Alas, there is never a single moment where 4 little hook beaks and beady black eyes are visible... and therefore no real evidence/proof of the elusive 4th child!
April 6:
Proof of Life! The pics are not great... but clearly 4 growing owlets are stuffing this nest full of downy cuteness.
I've stepped up my game: Now I drag myself out of bed at 6am to get there before sunrise AND often find myself back there around 6:30pm to witness mom's visits and a time of day that the owlets come alive - Golden Hour!
April 10:
Mom's visits have become less frequent. She sometimes brings in dinner (dead and tempting) but then flies back out with it. The owlets never look hungry but their bigger bellies allow them to choke down whole rabbits feet, fur and bones included. And go longer between meals. Mom is not disecting red meat from a tender bunny for them any more. And she is barely feeding them in the light of day.
My new birding friends have been feeding me the goss.... Mom is convincing her babies to start 'branching' out. To jump up on the side of the nest and flex their wings, to observe their greater environment - even if that is only a comical fascination with the flies hanging around the poopy, carcass-contaminated nest.
Time is ticking. A new nocturnal chapter awaits.
Mom still flies in from time to time to check on the kids but she is often (for hours) seen sleeping in a cottonwood tree a hundred yards from the nest. To be fair, the nest is FULL! Four growing owlets are crowded in there... panting in the hot afternoon sun and keeping each other warm and dry on cooler, wetter nights.
She's still doing an amazing job keeping them safe and watching them thrive... but she is also aware that fledging is important! The time is coming to cut those apron strings. Unlike human babies, these owls will take a one way trip from the nest and within a few months their parents will stop giving into their pleas for an easy meal. They will need to hunt and eat alone.
Mom's success... and she appears to be the Grizzly 399 of the great horned owl community in Boulder, is dependent on her kids getting all the headstart and fine instruction needed to sustain themselves in the long term.
One lady I talked to, has been coming to watch this owl raise her owlets in this tree trunk for 7 years. Another person told me this owl momma has just celebrated TEN YEARS of successfully rearing her offspring here. No wonder she is such a pro!
In any case, she is one good reason that in 2 weeks, I have learned so much about wildlife photography and improved so much too. Every day I get the chance to come back and rack my brain for a new composition around the same ol' tree trunk with babies inside. I get to practice as the light fades and shutter speed and ISO climb - with telescopic lens at full range. The family block each other, blink frequently and hardly ever look in the same direction. Mom flies in at a surprisingly high speed and never stays that long. The challenge to shoot a good picture is real, but that is just the beginning. My weakness is post processing and boy have I had to spend some hours revealing the picture my brain saw but my camera falls short of. Momma owl has also forced me to be a better student of LightRoom!
April 13:
As of this week mom has started putting her kids on a more nocturnal schedule...
She visits quite some time after sunset or before sunrise. Calling gently to them from a nearby perch, dropping food but not "preparing dinner" like she used to. She is coaxing them out of the nest; they are responding by jumping onto the edge of the trunk and practice-flapping. It's only a matter of time now, and I'm getting a little emotional at the thought of finding the nest empty.
So yeah... the kids are cute and endless entertainment. But it's mom, with her stereotypical owl-wisdom that lends itself to teaching not just her owlets, but anyone who rocks up and dares to sit and learn.
