The Great Great Horned Owl Adventure
Spring 2020, Photos & text by Gina Nichol

For the first time in at least 10 years, I spent the entire month of April at home in Connecticut. With life as we knew it essentially stopped, and with the increased need for mental health breaks in nature, I spent a lot of time at Lake Saltonstall, a Regional Water Authority property near in my home.  The Regional Water Authority is a non-profit, public water supply utility that protects thousands of acres of watershed lands. With a permit, some of its properties are accessible for hiking, fishing, and for me, bird watching.

In early April, I was walking one of the main trails and noticed something that looked like splattered white paint on the trail.  I recognized the thick white past right away as "whitewash" or owl excrement. 

Great Horned Owl whitewash

The whitewash was under a pine tree and as I checked around, I also found some partially disintegrated owl pellets, the undigested fur and bones that owls cough up. 

I looked up into the tree and could see something that looked like it might be a nest. 

The probable nest was at least 40 feet up and it was impossible to see if there was anything in it.  Each day, when I walked by, I checked around the ground and found more whitewash and pellets.  And then one day as I checked the area, I realized that a Great Horned Owl was watching me from above near the nest.

Great Horned Owl, April 17, 2020

After that, each day when I walked through the area, there was always a Great Horned Owl watching me. 

On April 23, I was watching some Pileated Woodpeckers nearby and filmed this interesting behavior. 

While I was filming the woodpeckers, I heard an interesting bird call.  I recognized it and remembered hearing that same call a few years earlier when I found this baby Great Horned Owl not far from the fishing docks at the south end of Lake Saltonstall. 

Great Horned Owl chick, May 2018, Lake Saltonstall (south)

I knew instantly that the sound was coming from a young Great Horned Owl begging for food.  Satisfied with my film of the woodpeckers, I moved cautiously toward the sound which was coming from the ground below the suspected nest.  As I approached, a pair of Northern Ravens flew by and dived down at something on the ground.  The adult Great Horned Owl perched in the pines above clacked its bill as a warning to the Ravens and they promptly departed.  There on the ground was a fledgling Great Horned Owl. 

Great Horned Owl chick, April 2020, Lake Saltonstall (north)

This young bird was in its "brancher" stage. It had left its nest but it could not yet fly.  During branching, gravity often brings these owls to the ground where they are tended to by the adult birds. And that is just what was happening. The adult owl was there watching over the young fluff ball, protecting it and feeding it. 

The branching stage is a critical time for young owls. Being on the ground means they are vulnerable to predators, dogs and well-meaning people. They have strong legs at this stage and can climb into bushes and eventually they will take their first flights. But this one was in a fairly open area and it was calling every few minutes for food which could easily attract unwanted attention. 

Zoomed up photo of the Great Horned Owl chick, April 23, 2020

I went back later that afternoon and the young owl was in the same spot and the adult was there as well.  I walked away thinking just how vulnerable the baby was.  But the parent was in attendance and this was a natural part of the Great Horned Owl's life history. Somehow, some young owls survive this stage.

The next morning I walked back down the trail.   Overnight, the young owl had moved from its open spot and was nowhere to be seen. The adult owl, however, was perched in a deciduous tree. I surmised that the young owl was somewhere nearby under its parent's watchful eye.    

I surveyed the area and it wasn't long before I heard the familiar begging call of the young owl. This time is was coming from some thick brush, a much better hiding place I thought. 

The next day, again the adult owl was around but the young one was nowhere to be seen or heard. 

On April 28, I spotted the adult owl in a deciduous tree being hassled by a Blue Jay. 

I suspected the young owl was somewhere nearby and soon spotted it just off the trail under a birch tree. Once again, this was not the best place to be. Though the owl blended in to its background, it was right in the open and right next to a trail. 

Great Horned Owl chick under the white trail blaze.

The bird remained in that spot all day (as I noted on my evening check).

The next day the bird had moved slightly but was still in the open. Before it spotted me, it was up and moving around near a big fallen log. When it became aware of my presence, it sat down and stayed still.

I went back the next day in the morning and evening but did not see the young owl again. I hoped that it had moved further into the cover of the forest and checked for several days after but nothing, yet. 

I did get a chance to inspect the area where the young bird had been on the ground for two days at the base of the birch tree.  There were some animal parts, fur, bones and a pellet. 

This was an amazing experience and I am grateful to have witnessed it. A few days later, I met two people birding in the area and they had seen an adult owl in the original grove of pine trees. What happened next?  Who knows!

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