April 14, 2019 - Great Horned Owl Nest - 3

Here’s my last set of owl family photos. This picture was taken from a different angle than the others I have shown you. It emphasizes the massive size of the nest which was originally built by an eagle. Eagles use a nest over and over for many years. Each year, they add more material to the nest. Eventually, it gets huge and sometimes the tree falls over from the weight of the nest.

OwlGreatHornedadultandbabiesnestThePlantationGeorgeIsland20190225

This photo shows the underside of a wing as one of the baby owls stretched it out. The wing feathers (called primaries) have grown out but not fully opened yet. I had never seen this before, so I asked an expert about it. Karla Bloem, Executive Director of the International Owl Center in Houston, Minnesota, told me this. “When feathers are growing in, they are in a thin keratin sheath and the shafts of the feathers are filled with blood. They are called “pin feathers” at this time. As they grow out of the sheaths, the feathers unfurl, and the keratin sheath gradually crumbles. Once fully grown, the blood recedes out of the shaft and the feathers are considered “hard penned.” They are functionally dead at that point, just like our hair.”

OwlGreatHornedbabynestThePlantationGeorgeIsland20190215

This baby owl is probably just stretching its wings. But it appears to be practicing its ferocious and intimidating look. (Maybe we should label this photo “Frankenowl.”)

OwlGreatHornedadultandbabiesnestThePlantationGeorgeIsland20190215

Here’s a top view of the wing feathers when they are almost fully expanded. The three blue spots near the end of the wing are the blue sky showing through a couple of open areas where the feathers haven’t fully unfurled.

OwlGreatHornedbabiesnestwingstretchingThePlantationGeorgeIsland20190222

That’s better. The wing is a little lower, so the sky isn’t showing through.

OwlGreatHornedbabiesnestwingstretchingThePlantationGeorgeIsland20190222

This is my favorite photo of the owl family. We left Florida on March 2 so I didn’t get to see the owls fully develop and fledge but it was great fun watching them grow up.

OwlGreatHornedadultandbabiesnestThePlantationGeorgeIsland20190215facebookbanner