Copyright ©2024 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.
The first week of March I started hiking out to see if a Great Horned Owl had returned to a nest she has used many times in the past. She wasn’t there. March 9th I returned and she was there!
It was time to start looking for the Owlets. I returned on the 19th, 25th, and 26th of March and saw no owlets but, hoped Mama was sitting on eggs.
I returned on April 4th, 14th, and on April 20th a birding girlfriend sent me an email telling me she went by and there were two Owlets! I went the following day, the 21st. When I arrived I only saw Mama no Owlets. So I birded the area and waited and waited. After an hour or so I saw a little white fuzzy head stirring behind Mama then not too long after that the cutest 2 Owlets you’ve ever seen popped up to see what was happening in their new world. They must have just hatched days before by the looks of them.
They barely could keep their eyes open. They were so tired. Mama had one eye on me the whole time though.
I’ll be making regular trips over to watch them grow, and hopefully this year will be the year I see them branching. I’ve never seen the previous year’s owlets do that here, and I’ve also never seen the Male GH Owl who I know has to be nearby.
Spring is here so I put out the outdoor cushions Monday morning and wouldn’t you know it Tuesday morning it rained. 🤣
I hope your week is going well.
Nikon D850| Nikkor 500mm PF-e| PS CC
more to come…
Circadianreflections Blog 
Wow! How exciting to see those sweet little owlets! Amazing how mama blends so well with her environment too. Great photos Deborah!
Thank you so much, Jill! I haven’t been seeing them since. I hope they’re getting bigger and come out more soon.
What scruffy little adorable chicks! Brings to mind ‘the ugly duckling’ story, as well as my teenage daughters and how much children change as they grow! Fabulous! Linda xox
LOL! I thought of that story as well. They weren’t up the last time I went to see them so I’m hoping they are Sunday when I go out to see them. If the weather is good. Thank you so much, Linda!
Enjoy the cheep-peep-show! xox
Thank you. 😂😂
These photos of the owls make me smile.
I’m so happy they made you smile!
Nice find, excellent image!
Thank you so much, John!
Oh my goodness, they are so precious! Looking forward to watching them grow up through you lens!
Thank you so much, Donna!
Your devotion to hiking out and watching is admirable, Deborah, and I am so glad you were rewarded with sightings. I liked how in your post you kept us in suspense and then we got to finally see the hatchlings in that incredible photo. When I got to the photo I lol because they are so very adorable! How glorious that you got to see these two newborn creatures.
Thank you so much, Jet! I’ll be hiking out again today to see how much they’ve grown. It’s exciting to see them grow.
Wonderful photos 👍👍
Thanks for sharing
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
Thank you so much for the lovely comment, KV!
Brilliant, Deborah!
Thank you so much, Cheryl!
My goodness, the photos are stunning. What great camouflage nature provides. I’m glad you captured the owlets. Looking forward to more as they grow.
Thank you so much, Jennie! She blends in so well to that tree you’d miss her if you didn’t know she was there.
Exactly! It must be hard to see her, much less get a terrific photo.
I think a lot passers by miss her because she blends in, but once you know where she is it’s easy to see her.
😀
There was a great horned owl pair nesting at a local refuge, but I didn’t manage to see them myself. Talk about magnets — they certainly were magnets for local photographers. I’m so glad you had the patience and equipment to capture these precious images; seeing them made my morning!
I can well imagine how the pair would draw the birders and photographers to see the pair. It’s the same here. All the locals are coming to see her and the Owlets. So far no big crowds. I hope it stays that way!
Wonderful photos, Deborah! What a treat to see 😊
Thank you, Belinda! It really neat to see them.
Wow what great captures Deborah especially seeing the owlets 😊
Thank you so much, Ashley. It’s very exciting seeing them.
Perseverence! Mama owl knows her duty. But o my, how cute ducklings are, so ugly are owlets. Wonderful shots of wonderful creatures, Deborah, don’t get me wrong, but some birds don’t win the beauty contest. 🙂
LOL! They’re so ugly they’re cute! I love their new white fuzzy down and sleepiness.
Thank you so much, Peter! 😀
This is one great family photo. Applause for such a wonderful catch by a truly skilled photographer with great perseverance. 👏👏👏👏 Thank you for sharing something that most of us would never have a chance to see. It needs a frame. 🙂
Thank you so much, Judy! I’m so glad you enjoyed the post and images of the Owl family. 😍
Nice Shots!
Thank you, David!
Brilliant, what lovely images!
Thank you so much, Brian!!
I love this time of year! Beautifully captured – a family together!
Me too. Thank you so much, Rebecca! 😀
All I can say is Awwww. Great photo, Deborah. BTW. Outdoor cushions are rain magnets.
Thank you so much, John! LOL! Like washing the car is a rain magnet right. 🤣
Right.
Nice to see hatchlings!! Will be fun to follow their progress. I saw an article about northern CA coastal areas are trying to cull or eradicate the Barred Owls since they aren’t native and are squeezing out another local species (forgot which one). It seems licenses were issued to hunters to hunt the Barred Owls at night.
Egads!! I’ve yet to see a Barred Owl so how many are there? Have you seen a Barred Owl?
No, except in photos.
😭
Beautiful Deborah!!My daughter and I are going today. Fingers crossed. Got home Monday. Get a few days here B4 leaving aga
Thank you, Jarlath!! I hope they’re up when you go see them! 😍
So your owl prowl paid off.
When you say “hopefully this year will be the year I see them branching,” perhaps you can explain to a non-birder what that involves.
It did! Oh, I probably should have explained branching. When the Owlets start to test their wings and move out of the nest because they get too big they move to nearby branches where they move around gripping the branches with talons, and flap their wings, and start taking short flights and before you know it they fledge!
That’s about what I thought the term would mean but I wanted to check.
😀
What a special band you must feel witnessing another owlet season. Looking forward to more photos.
It’s very exciting seeing her come back year after year. There was one year she didn’t come back so I’m not taking this gift of observing them for granted. 😀
I love that first photo, Deborah. Mom looks lost in thought. The owlets are so cute, and I see what you mean about mom keeping an eye on you. Thanks for your perseverance in getting these photos, and thanks so much for sharing them.
Thank you so much, Dan. I’m happy to share them with you.
I still haven’t seen one in the wild 😦
I hope you do see one someday!