April 22, 2012 - Baby Owls

One of my photographer friends, Shirley Doyle, took me to Silverwood Park in New Brighton, MN and showed me a huge tree with a Great Horned Owl nest in it. Only two juvenile owls were perched out in the open at that time. Our office is near the park so I came back later in the afternoon and all three owlets were visible. The one in the bottom right corner is sitting at the entrance to the nest hole.

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Many visitors walk through the park each day on the paved trail right near the tree, so the owlets are used to seeing people. Here’s a photo taken from the other side of the tree. Something rustling around in the grass caught their attention. I didn’t see what it was but they were intently focusing on it.

NOTE: Karla Bloem, an owl expert, contacted me to say that these owlets are 5 to 6 weeks old based on their feather development. (At three weeks, the wing feathers would just be starting to appear and the owlets would not be out of the nest yet.)

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One of the park visitors told me the owlets were about three weeks old. NOTE: Karla Bloem, an owl expert, contacted me to say that these owlets are 5 to 6 weeks old based on their feather development. (At three weeks, the wing feathers would just be starting to appear and the owlets would not be out of the nest yet.) In this photo you can see that the wing feathers have almost completely grown out. It won’t be long before the owlets are flying. I didn’t see any sign of the adult owls, but the young ones are grown up enough that they can be left on their own for extended periods of time. Perhaps the adults were off hunting. It takes a lot of food to keep three hungry youngsters satisfied.

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This big yawn makes me think it might be nap time.

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I also saw this male Eastern Bluebird at Silverwood Park. He was perching in a tree and flying down to catch insects.

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Here’s a photo showing the sky blue feathers on the Bluebird’s wings, back, and tail.

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I drove through Long Lake Regional Park one morning on my way to the office and found this pair of Wood Ducks. They were perched on top of a Wood Duck box, probably checking out the real estate. I’m always impressed by the beauty of a male Wood Duck.

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