Nature Study Follow-Up

On our walk today I answered one of the questions from our list for the Handbook of Nature Study's Autumn Series-Winter Jumpstart Challenge, which I posted here.

Today's Question: What are the horned owl's nesting habits? Do horned owls migrate? They especially want to know if we will be able to find and watch the nestlings again this year.


Earlier this week I reviewed some excellent information about the Great Horned Owl at the following websites:


The Owl Pages - Forest Preserve District of Cook County - The Great Horned Owl

Answer: Great Horned Owls do not build nests of their own, but will overtake an abandoned nest. Nesting season is January-February, lay 2-4 eggs at a time which incubate 26-35 days. Families stay together during the summer, nestlings leave in the fall, adults remain in their breeding grounds year-round. Average home ranges are about 1 square mile.

So we have a good chance of seeing the owls again this next year. Hopefully we will be able to find their nest again.


Here are some of my previous posts about our owl family: First Sighting, Getting up close & Owl Pellets .

My kids reminded me of how we first found the owls- I was pointing and talking about some other birds when my daughter said there was an owl. I, of course, corrected her and continued to tell them all about the birds I was talking about, only to be corrected myself when I realized she was pointing at a different tree with real owls!! Originally I thought it was 2 adults, but we later determined there were 3 nestlings and the parents were usually away from the nest when we came to visit in the early evenings.

On our walk we were very sad to find that one of the trees where we had spotted our owl family had fallen over. The kids are hoping the owls will come back to the same nest. I hope we haven't scared them off.

We walked down to the trees and found lots of evidence of the owls from the past year- owl pellets, feathers, bones, and this handsome skull.

My kids couldn't resist climbing in the fallen tree.
In the tree still standing we were able to see the large nest high in the branches.

And I couldn't resist sharing this video of our darling Dade, hopping through the snow like a rabbit.

It was good to be out, trudging through the snow and breathing the fresh air.