Friday’s Feathered Friends- Great Horned Owlets

Posted in Birds, Birds in the Wild, Birds of North America, Birds of Prey, Friday's Feathered Friends, Owls and Owlets, PhotographyTagged , , , , ,

Copyright ©2026 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Spring is…Owlets!

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
Oldest Owlet…roughly 3 weeks old and branching.
©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
Younger two Owlets. One of these is branching now as well.
©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
Mama GH Owl getting some zzz’s nearby the nest.
©Deborah M. Zajac | http//:circadianreflections.com
Dad GH Owl keeping one eye on me.

This little Owl family was a treat to find and see this month.

Fun Facts:

  • Great Horned Owls are fierce predators that can take large prey, including raptors such as Ospreys, Peregrine Falcons, Prairie Falcons, and other owls. They also eat much smaller items such as rodents, frogs, and scorpions.
  • When clenched, a Great Horned Owl’s strong talons require a force of 28 pounds to open. The owls use this deadly grip to sever the spine of large prey.
  • If you hear an agitated group of cawing American Crows, they may be mobbing a Great Horned Owl. Crows may gather from near and far and harass the owl for hours. The crows have good reason, because the Great Horned Owl is their most dangerous predator.
  • Even though the female Great Horned Owl is larger than her mate, the male has a larger voice box and a deeper voice. Pairs often call together, with audible differences in pitch.
  • Great Horned Owls are covered in extremely soft feathers that insulate them against the cold winter weather and help them fly very quietly in pursuit of prey. Their short, wide wings allow them to maneuver among the trees of the forest.
  • Great Horned Owls have large eyes, pupils that open widely in the dark, and retinas containing many rod cells for excellent night vision. Their eyes don’t move in their sockets, but they can swivel their heads more than 180 degrees to look in any direction. They also have sensitive hearing, thanks in part to facial disc feathers that direct sound waves to their ears.
  • The oldest Great Horned Owl on record was at least 28 years old when it was found in Ohio in 2005.

Fun Facts gleaned from allaboutbirds.org

I’m out birding early this morning as it’s light out much earlier so I’ll be a little later getting to your posts and comments.

more to come…

40 thoughts on “Friday’s Feathered Friends- Great Horned Owlets”

    1. They are striking aren’t they. I think I painted an owl once…or maybe I bought a kit from Let’s Make Art and haven’t actually painted it? I’ll have to look and see which one if any I did. 😂 It was such a neat find! A friend texted me this morning that he can’t see the owlets anywhere, but Mama flew out of a tree further up the road. They must be high and hidden is some tree nearby getting ready to fledge!

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  10. You can never have too many photos of owlets, right!

    Our GH owlets in AZ fledged the last week in April! It is always interesting to watch them grow and watch the people watching the owls!

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  11. I turned to AI to confirm what I assumed you meant by “branching”:

    “For an owlet, ‘branching’ is a crucial developmental stage where young owls leave the safety of their nest to climb, hop, and flutter along nearby tree branches. This typically occurs around 6 to 8 weeks of age, just before they are fully capable of sustained flight.”

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  12. Whenever I see ‘owlets’ mentioned, I have to stop everything and go look. I think they’re the most adorable creatures, and your photos are wonderful. Between those fuzzy feathers and those big eyes — well, there’s just nothing like them. I still haven’t seen any apart from photos, and I’m not even sure I could identify an owl’s call, but I’m going to take a friend’s advice and spend some time with recordings to get familiar with the sounds.

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  13. Your photos are wonderful, Deborah. Given the description of how capable they are, I’m reluctant to call them cute, but…

    Thanks for all the information. This was very interesting.

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