June 23, 2019 - Long-eared Owl

My friend Shawn Conrad discovered a Long-eared Owl nesting on his property. He lives near Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Naturally I was interested in seeing and photographing it. It was using a nest in this tree.

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Here’s a closer look at the loosely constructed stick nest. Owls do not build their own nests, so this was probably built in a previous year by a hawk or crow.

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My first look at the owl was on May 10. It was hunkered down and raised its head just enough to see me over the edge of the nest. I couldn’t tell if it was still sitting on eggs or if the owlets had already hatched.

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One owlet was visible on May 25. That’s the only one I saw but Shawn told me there were three of them. June 9 was the next time I could get there, and the nest was empty. The owlets had already fledged.

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I searched the woods around the nest looking for the owls, but I didn’t find them. As I walked along the edge of the trees, I heard rustling in the tall grass and a bird call I didn’t recognize. Suddenly, this Ruffed Grouse charged out of the grass and ran around in the shorter grass near me. This is the first time I have seen a Ruffed Grouse with its ruff raised. Before I could get set up to take some video, it ran back into the tall grass and then flew away.

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Shawn has a Bleeding Heart bush growing near his house and I couldn’t resist taking a photo of the flowers.

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