Baby Great Horned Owls

[Sturg]

I went out to scout for turkeys this morning with a friend. An owl flew out of a tree we were walking by on a farm road and landed on the ground a short distance from us in some small pine trees. I thought that it was odd behavior. I had my camera with me so I decided to follow and see if I could get a shot of it on the ground. Turns out it was a fledgling with poor flying skills. I took a few pics, turned to leave and I almost stepped on a woodcock. I looked down and there was a nest with 3 eggs. Brown eggs with black dots. I only had a 400mm lens with me so I couldn't get a picture of it. We then walked out to the back of the property and saw two deer coming toward us. They saw us and stopped. Behind them 3 turkey hens and a tom walked out. Wow, what a hike! We decided to head back and on the way back a group of crows were going nuts in the woods ahead. We went to investigate and saw an owl fly off to the east with the crows in pursuit. I noticed a nest about 40 ft up and aspen tree. Another baby owl appeared in the nest. I took a photo and we turned to leave and it bailed out of the nest. Obviously it was the owl's first flight. Its wings hit some tree branches and it fell to the ground. I took a few pics and it eventually crawled up off the ground into a downed tree top where we left it. What a great morning!

First owlet under a pine tree:

2nd owlet in the nest:

2nd owlet on the ground:

[LeeKen]

Beautiful bird. Great pics!

Thanks for sharing!

[eyeguy 54]

cool!

[MN Shutterbug]

Sounds like an exciting morning. Love the last shot.

[Dbl]

That is pretty cool!