Beyond Your Backyard 🦉 "The Family Life of the Great Horned Owl"
By Kimberly J Epp
Great Horned Owl mated pair, Lower Mainland B.C., November, 2019 (photo by Edsel James).
If you have ever wondered hoo the first bird to mate is, you may be surprised to hear that it is Moose Jaw's most common yearly resident hoo-ter, the Great Horned Owl.
The Great Horned Owl doesn't actually have horns, but rather two large feather tufts on top of is head which gave the owl its name. Most of these owls have already paired up and mated by the end of February and will soon be out on their nest.
Great Horned Owl and her 3 owlets, Lower Mainland B.C. May, 2019 (photo by Edsel James).
Males start hooting in the fall to establish territory, then again in January and February to find mates. In claiming territory, if another male owl answers the call, the owl will either have to seek out new space or confront the current resident to try and chase him out. Owls defend their territories very fiercely, so unless the other owl is weak, he will be forced to find new grounds. When the males hoot for the females, you can mimic these calls and often get a responding call.
Some of the hooting may sound like terrible howling, and in fact the word owl actually comes from an Old English word that means "to howl". Others of the same species, however, find these hoots to be irresistible. As the birds call back and forth during mating season, they will move closer to each other to see if their hoot matches their "dating app"! Their love songs are very loud, and in the case of some species of owls, can be heard from up to 10 kilometers away.
Two Great Horned Owl owlets (photo by Grayson Boxx).
Once the owls meet, this is when the flirting begins, which becomes a kind of owl air show. Then a roosting site must be chosen. If the female owl approves of the nest, she will follow the male to his roost. As these owls cannot build their own nests, they choose the discarded nests of hawks and crows. Some male owls stamp their feet. That tells the female, "This is a great place to raise our new family!"
"I see you, hooman!" (photo by John C. Corden)
As the owls begin their courting, they touch and preen one another. Most owl species click their tongues, fence with their beaks, and nuzzle their faces against each other. Some owl species then present the female with a dead rodent as a form of engagement ring. Once the female accepts the furry wedding present, the two owls are a genuine item. Once the owls become an item, there is no breaking the pair up.
A near fully fledged owlet (photo by Nick Lanfear).
The female lays her eggs (about the same size as chicken eggs) soon after the owls mate, which occurs at the end of February to the beginning of March. After about a month of incubation, 2 or 3 owlets will appear in the nest. The owlets are weak, blind, down-covered, and damp upon breaking out of their eggs. They are totally dependent on their parents for shelter, protection, warmth and food. While the mother shelters her frail babies, the male brings the food. The nest can soon become a mess of owl pellets, bones and fur - and often very smelly. "Hello, honey. I brought you a dead skunk!" Good thing these owls have a poor sense of smell.
Owlet awaiting some lunch (photo by Nick Lanfear).
The owlets grow up fast. By the time they are a month old, their eyes are open and some can even eat small prey whole. At about 9 weeks old, they will even try to fly. When a baby owl has all of its adult feathers, it is a fully fledged owl. The parents continue to care for their owlets even when they are nearly the same size as them. Both parents are kept busy flying back and forth all night to feed their young, up to 4 to 6 rodents a night per owlet...or during the day if other prey is readily available. Soon the young may even weigh more than the parents. Then it is time for some hunting lessons, as this must be the where the term "leave the nest" comes from!
Mother Great Horned Owl with chick (photo by Nick Lanfear).
To become good hunters, owlets must practice over and over again. Even when they are able to catch their own prey, the owlets still cannot survive on their own for several months. The family may, in fact, stay together over the winter. So, keep your eye open this Spring for a mated pair. If you see crows mobbing these owls, you may have found their roost. Watch them however from a distance to respect these great birds - and just enjoy the hoot!
Great Horned owlet enjoying a Richardson's Ground Squirrel lunch (photo by Hilda Maier).
At the upcoming meeting for the Moose Jaw Nature Society, we will be welcoming Lori Johnson from the Saskatchewan Burrowing Owl Interpretive Center. She will also bring a special guest, one of their outreach Burrowing Owls.
This Great Horned Owl owlet is becoming quite handsome (photo by Michael St. Laurent).
The meeting is open to the public, and there is no charge to attend. We meet on Friday, February 28th at 6:30 pm at St. Mark's Church on 60 High Street East. So, see hoo all there! 🦉
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Epp is an Environmental Educator and writer, and the Past President and Field Trip/Workshop Director. She can be reached at kepp@shaw.ca or via the Moose Jaw Nature Society's Facebook page.