Great Horned Owl Nest
Great Horned Owl Nest One of my many pastime activities is improving habitat on my small parcel of land, such as removing the non-native trees and shrubs and then planting a wide variety of native trees and shrubs. In addition to these plant infrastructure additions, I spend a lot of time building and installing structures for nesting birds. For example, I have built and installed over a dozen Bluebird nest boxes. Over the past couple of years, I have also built and installed an American Kestrel nesting box. I have been successful in attracting a nesting pair of Kestrels for two years now. I have also installed nest boxes for Black-capped Chickadees, Northern Flickers and Great Crested Flycatchers. Five years ago, after seeing a pair of Great Horned Owls on my property, I decided to build and install a nesting platform in hopes that the owls would use it for nesting. I built the nesting platform out of 2 x 6 lumber. I turned the lumber on edge to make a sheltered area inside. The platform measured 3 feet by 3 feet square. After putting some wooden supports across the bottom, I lined the inside bottom with hardware cloth to allow water to drain. I used more 2 x 6 lumber to span across the tree limbs to provide a stable area to place the nesting platform. Because I wanted it to look natural and more inviting, I screwed many 2 and 3-inch branches to the outside of the nesting platform. When I was all done, I used a bunch of dried grass to make a comfortable place inside the structure for the owls to nest and lay their eggs. I installed the nest platform 30 feet up in a tree in the autumn, knowing that Great Horned Owls nest in mid to late winter. And sure enough, a pair of Great Horned Owls moved in the very first winter. They produced one egg, which later hatched into a beautiful baby owl. For the next four years, the pair of owls returned to use the same nesting platform. I was thrilled knowing that I was able to provide critical nesting habitat for such a large predator. But I was always a bit frustrated not knowing when they laid their eggs or how many eggs or just what was going on with the chicks because the nest was too high for me to see. So last October, I installed a camera just above the nest to observe and learn more about the nesting behaviors of the Great Horned Owls. Knowing that Great Horned Owls usually don’t use the same nest for many years in a row, I gambled that perhaps they might come back to nest one more time. While planning how to make this video camera work, I got the idea that perhaps I could live-stream the nesting activities on my YouTube Channel. I have already been live-streaming the Flying Squirrels in my yard when they come into the peanut feeder each evening, so why not stream the nesting Great Horned Owls? I know that everyone really enjoys watching nesting Bald Eagles. After installing a camera with infrared capabilities, so we can watch at night, the camera and nest platform were all set to go. Sure enough, last January, the pair started showing up at the nest and by early February, the female had laid her first egg, then a second and then a third egg. After 35 days of incubation, the first egg hatched on March 11th. We are now waiting for the other eggs to hatch. So, by the time you read this, the other owlets will have hatched and will be growing. You can tune in to watch the live feed for yourself by either going to my website at www.naturesmart.com, then scrolling to the bottom for a link, or by going to YouTube and searching @naturesmartmedia. Join the Nature Smart community there and have fun learning about these amazing owls. Until next time… About Stan Stan Tekiela is an author, naturalist, and wildlife photographer who travels extensively to study and photograph wildlife. He can be followed on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, and contacted via his website at naturesmart.com.