Dad on guard duty

Yesterday morning, I went on a birding walk with a group of friends, to Fish Creek Park. When owls are seen, they tend to be the highlight of a walk, and yesterday we were able to see six Great Horned Owls, 4 adults and 2 young ones.

The owl in this photo is a male, Dad to three young ones. We only saw two of the babies yesterday morning - this was the first time I had seen two. I had only been to see these owls once before. As males always do, they perch and rest in a tree that has a good view of the nest, keeping watch over the female and the babies. Even though this owl looks like he's fast asleep, he will be wide awake in a split second if anything, such as a Canada Goose, threatens the nest.

"With its long, earlike tufts, intimidating yellow-eyed stare, and deep hooting voice, the Great Horned Owl is the quintessential owl of storybooks. This powerful predator can take down birds and mammals even larger than itself, but it also dines on daintier fare such as tiny scorpions, mice, and frogs. It’s one of the most common owls in North America, equally at home in deserts, wetlands, forests, grasslands, backyards, cities, and almost any other semi-open habitat between the Arctic and the tropics.

Great Horned Owls are nocturnal. You may see them at dusk sitting on fence posts or tree limbs at the edges of open areas, or flying across roads or fields with stiff, deep beats of their rounded wings. Their call is a deep, stuttering series of four to five hoots." From AllAboutBirds.

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Horned_Owl/id

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_horned_owl