Urban Safari: Great Horned Owlets in Boston
...oh my!!!
The Great Horned Owl (GHO) is one of the most common owl species in North America, but actually seeing them is not as easy as we thought it would be, even if they live in your neighborhood and lots of people tell you pretty exactly where it is/they are.
We got a glimpse of one WAAAY in the distance once, and were able to identify it as a GHO only because of its very distinctive silhouette.
Ohhhh mye gawd wouldja look at that…
When a birder friend informed us that a pair of GHOs had built a nest in Boston and that their three (THREEE) owlets had hatched, we were all ears!!! We went to see them early in March, but held off talking about them because of the request not to share the location or to post pics on social media.
We are posting now only because they are ready to fledge!
If I were asked to write this sign, it would probably read: DUDE. APEX PREDITORS. WITH BABIES. DON’T EVEN TRY. ANY PART OF YOU REMOVED BY MOM/DAD WILL BE CONSIDERED A DELICIOUS MORSEL FOR THE BABIES. SO JUST DON’T.
It only makes sense that we take extra care with these apex predators because Great Horneds can survive for a long time: 12—15 years in the wild, 30+ years in captivity. The oldest GHO in the wild lived a little longer than 28 years, and the oldest Great Horned Owl in captivity (on record) lived to 50!
All of the GHOGs (Great Horned Owl Geeks) who showed up to see the owlets were very respectful of the distance request; it was almost like they were working with nature (which, to some people who are NOT GHOGs, makes no sense whatever). That’s the thing with nature peeps, they respect what the earth offers us, and make concerted efforts to admire what we have been given without damaging anything else.
Most of the time, the owlets were just looking around, but even so, we limited our three visits to about 15-20 minutes each because we didn’t want to stress them out.
You can’t tell from these pics, but these were some thrillingly excited GHOGs.
The Owlets…early April
Great horned owl eggs and nestlings are vulnerable to predation. On our first visit, even though we had the GPS coordinates, it still took us a little while to locate the nest and spot the owlets.
“I. Am. Watching. You…and I hope you are my lunch.”
It makes sense that the nest was well camouflaged and the owlets were under the watchful eye of one of the adults at all times. While adult GHOs are rarely preyed upon, foxes, raccoons, crows, ravens and other raptors would love an egg-and-young-owlet snack, so at this stage the parents are always nearby and ready to rumble if need be.
“You’ve gotta ask yourself a question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well, do ya, punk?” was NOT first uttered by “Dirty Harry,” it was mouthed by a Great Horned Owl in the throes of parenting…
What struck us immediately was how BIG the owlets were! Even at just at few weeks old, the three little ones were larger than most birds we normally encounter and that gaze…INTENSE!
“Do you see mum? Do you see mum? Do I see mum?”
The Owlets…mid April
When we returned to the nest a week later, were greeted by three seriously maturing owlets. They didn’t move around much, but it was clear that they were able to, as all three were on different branches. Their feathers were now less downy and the gaze was even more intense!
“I think I see food.” ” I don’t see the food you say you see.” “YAY, IT’S MUM WITH FOOD!” “Oh cucka, it’s just a leaf.”
The Owlets…end of April
We went back this morning, probably for the last time (OK…maybe there will be one more visit), to see if they had fledged.
“Don’t think I haven’t already determined the coefficient drag of hauling you away to another tree to snack on…”
As with the other visits, we only stayed for a short stint. As a result, we didn’t see any thing more than just head movements, but even “just” that was thrilling!
“I’m gonna miss you, brother mine.” “The hell you will; you will never acknowledge me again.” “Same thing, if you thing about it…”
All three owlets were now sitting not just on different branches, but in a different tree! The tree with the nest was next door (as it were), but still, it was cool to experience the speed with which they were growing, both physically and mentally: they are all now able to make short hops, and to figure out where they wanted to hop to! We determined that the adults were off hunting somewhere, until we noticed one of them actually keeping watch right close by (look to the left of the lower owlet).
Guess the owlets are not quite ready to be left to their own devices just yet…
NOT three. FOUR. You have to look closely…
The Gear
We knew the owlets would be:
To get a shot, any shot, we would need our longest lens and a good sturdy tripod.
“Oo, I see the owlets! Holy shi…look at those beaks. I am not going any closer…”
It is difficult to find the owlets with a telephoto lens, so a good pair of binoculars is a must. We brought along our trusty Fujinon 10×32 as well as our VANGUARD Endeavor ED 8×42 Binoculars. Both sets of binoculars are bright, contrasty, and very sharp. They were also the reason why we were able to locate the owlets!
Once located, we were able to quickly lock on them with the camera. The zoom on the LCD panel on the D850 was really helpful in fine tuning the focus.
The phrase “Oh-meye-gawd-oh-meye-gawd-oh-meye-gawd” was said multiple times during our OO (Owl Outing), and for excellent reasons.
The Vanguard carbon fiber tripod is light, super stiff, and was absolutely up to the task of keeping the eight pounds of camera and lens rock steady. Fully extended, it made looking through the camera very comfortable…even with everything pointed at an upward angle.
“Wow.” Seriously, there is no better word that that when seeing owlets in the wild.
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