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Twin Great Horned Owl Babies

Discussion

14 replies
Posted by Michael Kuran on March 31, 2009 at 9:14 PM
Well this is a picture of one of the twins that is in the wild. A friend and I were out getting some bird pictures and went to an great horned owl nest and caught up with Jeff and Jack and they work for the state and banned owls,hawks ect ect ect... Anyway while doing there job they put the babies up on this tree for us to take pictures of. They said the babies were like 5 weeks old. It was an experience of a life time to see the whole process happen! Something I'll never forget! Hope you enjoy the photo and thanks for looking!

Mike K
Posted by Bruce Palla on March 31, 2009 at 9:30 PM
What a treat. Thanks.
Posted by Philip Schwarz on March 31, 2009 at 11:29 PM
What a great shot.
Posted by Mitch Erwin on April 1, 2009 at 12:44 AM
Mike, what a great opportunity to have. You did well with this shot, have any with this pose and the owl looking straight at you? :toast:
Posted by Michael Kuran on April 1, 2009 at 5:47 AM
Thanks Mitch I do believe that I have a few like that.
Posted by Chuck Beatty on April 1, 2009 at 8:04 AM
Great capture of the GHO defensive posture, Mike. She's saying, "Don't mess with me, I'm huge!" In another month no critter will dare mess with her. I did some raptor rehab and banding in Texas and Virginia, and these youngsters were always a lot of fun in the spring -- until they learned how to use their feet. :eek:
Posted by Kendall Hetrick on April 1, 2009 at 8:49 AM
I agree with the others great shot and opportunity. Thanks for the look.
Posted by Brian Vance on April 1, 2009 at 12:05 PM
Great behavior shot! Love the feather details and the eye, too! Thanks for sharing the story about how the shot came together.
Posted by Nathaniel Blood on April 1, 2009 at 2:01 PM
Wow, excellent shot. I love the detail in the feathers and the pose. Thanks for sharing this!
Posted by Toni Lankerd on April 1, 2009 at 2:50 PM
What a great experience, Michael! I've never even seen an adult GHO in person, let alone the babies. Thanks for posting this! :smile:
Posted by Michael Kuran on April 1, 2009 at 6:48 PM
I was such a treat and I hope everyone has a chance at one time or another to do this. I help the guys somewhat. Jeff was like keep your eye on the mother as she could come in just never know. As luck would have it she stayed in a tree not to far off watching everything that was going on.

Question for anyone here, Where do you think the male was at this time hunting maybe?

Mike K
Posted by Chuck Beatty on April 1, 2009 at 7:02 PM
He may have been off hunting -- or maybe close by, but hidden. At this stage, she can also leave the nest to hunt and not worry too much about the youngsters. She's also more likely to defend the nest than he is. Another possibility is that he might have succumbed to one of the many human-created challenges that raptors face: cars, power lines, fences, poison, guns. Unfortunately, it happens a lot more than we imagine.
Posted by Michael Kuran on April 1, 2009 at 8:00 PM
That would really suck if that happen! I have been there a few times any haven't ever seen to adults there so I can only hope all is well and he was out hunting. The guy said when he was putting fresh wood chips in the nest that there was about half a rabbit left and a robin head left as well.

Mike K
Posted by Ken Hupila on April 1, 2009 at 9:37 PM
Nice image - great color and clarity. I've seen GHO chicks on the ground like this before, and was chased off by mama dive bombing me. Contacted the DNR and they indicated this was a very typical scenario (though seldom seen by most of us).
Posted by Kerry Leibowitz on April 1, 2009 at 10:58 PM
Great shot! Thanks for sharing the moment with us.