This evening a friend called and invited me to bird. Said she’d heard of a hawk’s nest out on utility poles south of Lake Fort Phantom and wanted to go take a look. Yawn, every year some Red-taileds nest there. I was tired; really didn’t want to go see another Red-tailed; but made the effort none-the-less. Before I could set the scope on the hawks, I noticed something different:
Those weren’t hawks! They were Great-horned Owls! Well, “owl” be surprised! The parent sat to the right of the nest and we watched the nestlings preen, stretch their wings, and generally jostle each other because they’d outgrown their nest.
The owlets soon settled back into the nest to wait for the sun to set. I left re-examining my previous pre-concieved negative attitude. Nature is full of surprises if we’d only make ourselves available to observe it.
(The owls are out on FM 3308; the road that runs between West Lake Road and East Lake Road.)
One response to “Well, Owl Be Surprised!”
We drove out to see the owlets! Awesome! There were no adults there when we went,but the Big Babies were snuggling in their nest. We’ve also enjoyed seeing the many Dickcissels in the area near there. They have such a bold, clear, and obvious song AND are so beautiful. Thanks for the pictures and info.