The Owlery
The continuing story of a family of Great Horned Owls - by Dave Brooks
Book Ten
Book Ten covers the young owls of 2021 as they mature and thrive in their home woodlands.
May 26th, 2021, 7:14am - One of this year’s youngsters checking it all out from a nice branch about thirty feet up while its sibling shuffles along to the left, partially concealed.
A minute later and the owl on the left has taken off for a short flight while its sibling watches closely.
Two minutes later, the owl that was on the right has moved to the left on the same branch its sibling launched from.
A split-second later our young owl leaps forward along the branch, sticking the landing is the tricky part but working those wings in crowded conditions takes great care too. This shot and the next three were taken in continuous burst sequence at five frames per second.
Talons lock tightly, wrapping around the branch.
Now with eyes fixed on the next landing spot...
…and then launching up to the next chosen landing.
A few seconds after landing, owl eyes are on the next destination.
Two minutes later and getting ready to blast off again. This one shot and the next five images were taken in continuous burst sequence.
Up we go, looks a little like levitation here. A lot of thrust from those powerful legs.
Its tight quarters here and things are looking very good.
Locked on with eyes closing briefly for protection as surrounding branches are very close here. Notice the difference in wing positions to coordinate with hindering branches.
The satisfaction of another well executed flight and landing in tight conditions.
Fifteen seconds later finds our young owl in a comfortable repose, surveying its domain.
Twelve seconds later and airborne again. This frame and the next six shots are in close sequence all occurring in a six second span.
With a nice finishing flourish, landing solidly in fine form.
Two minutes later - Is that a gopher emerging from its burrow over in the field? Or perhaps a vole? Something there has its attention.
May 31st, 2021, 3:30pm. This beautiful young owl has posed very nicely here, just fifteen feet up, offering a great opportunity for me to capture the moment.
The owls of 2021 were not as readily available for photo sessions, compared with the four prior years.
Furthermore, many differences became evident as spring turned to summer, and summer to fall. It became clear in the autumn that these two young owls were not dispersing to areas farther away. They stayed nearby, apparently roosting in redwood trees in my neighborhood, just a couple of blocks away from my home. Their parents’ favored roosting site was in the treeline, about two hundred yards to the west of my house.
In the evening twilight, the young owls would come out and perch on treetops around my house, calling out to their parents, who would often fly near, gathering the expanded family before heading out to the nearby expanse of farm fields for a productive night of hunting and feasting. Other times, the parents would call their offspring to join them as they spread out to other hunting routes and the young owls would fly to meet them. It was apparent that they spoke in a well developed language, communication was clear and effective.
As fall progressed toward winter, these nightly family forays continued. Twilight hooting was an almost nightly ritual, interrupted only when the parents directed the evening hunt to head out toward the west, away from the fields just east of my house. I would watch their silhouettes fly out toward their destinations on many evenings.
As winter neared and the courting season began, I heard the mated pair of mature owls hooting love calls to each other near the tree line where they have raised their young for the past five years that I have followed them. However, there were now no remaining nests in the treeline, not that I could find. Red-tailed hawks have certainly tried to build nests here in the past few years, but the owls drive them off, in no uncertain manner. I don’t know exactly where they “nested” in 2021, but I believe they made due with something far less accommodating than a roomy and well constructed hawk-built nest.
So, as I write and post this in April, 2022, I do not know just where the owls have nested and raised their young this year, but I am about to hopefully discover the answer to this, as late April is the time of year that the fledglings branch out aggressively, making them much easier to find.
P.S. as of June15, 2023, the same pattern occurred through the summer and fall of 2022. I have yet to find the young owls of 2023 so far, more to come soon I hope. db
By Dave Brooks