Feb. 26, 2017 - A Tale of Two Nests

Right after we arrived in Florida, I posted a photo showing a roosting area for Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets http://www.earlorfphotos.com/Pictures-of-the-Week/2017-Pictures-of-the-Week/Jan-22-2017-Were-Back-in/ .
I didn’t realize it at the time, but later someone pointed out to me that a Great Horned Owl nest was right across the street from the roost. Look in the tallest tree in this photo, near the top.

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Here’s a closer look at one of the adult owls sitting on the nest. Owls don’t build their own nests; they take over an abandoned nest built by another bird. This one looks big enough to have been built by an eagle. I was surprised that the owl would use a nest right next to the main street through this area. I guess there’s not enough traffic to be a problem.

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I check out this nest each time I go by. This time, the adult was sitting on a branch near the nest. It’s a little hard to see but the top of a fuzzy-headed young owl can be seen peeking over the edge of the nest.

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Two days later, one of the young owls was sitting on the edge of the nest. I was surprised to see how big it was already.

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I finally got a photo of the two juvenile owls together.

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This Bald Eagle nest is less than two blocks away from the owl nest. This photo was taken at the end of January. I know that eagles in Florida lay eggs earlier than those back home in Minnesota. However, it wasn’t obvious if the eggs had hatched yet.

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I had my answer three weeks later when this photo was taken. Not only were the eggs in the last photo already hatched but the chicks must have been well along in their development. Here they are almost fully grown and ready to fledge. The second juvenile eagle is just visible on the left side of the nest.

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A day later, Diana and I stopped at the nest and as we were watching, an adult eagle flew in with a fish. One of the juveniles grabbed the fish and tried to swallow it whole. It was a little too big so it had to be torn into smaller pieces.

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One of the juveniles is stretching its wings. Bald Eagles have a wing span of 7½ feet. If this bird had been in the center of the nest, it looks like its wings would go from one edge of the nest to the other. That gives you a rough estimate of the size of the nest.

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