Baby owls in Wyoming

[What Map]

We found a nest with two chicks in Cottonwoods along the Greybull River. This first pic shows a chick on the left and one of the adults on the right. We think they are Great Horned, but we don't know for sure.



This picture is of the two chicks.

 

[RUT JUNKEY]

Very cool. They look like Great Horned to me also. We have a ton of owls around here, but, most are Barred or Screech.

 

[Festus]

Nice Hooters!

 

[Curtis.mullin]

Was this from this weekend?

 

[Topgun 30-06]

Would this years younguns be that big already? It looks almost as big as the adults!

 

[Paul in Idaho]

Great find. Thanks for sharing the photos.

 

[What Map]

Curtis, pictures were taken Sunday before Memorial day.
Topgun, the nest must have been started when it was still snowing. Those babies are very big!

 

[kansasdad]

Would this years younguns be that big already? It looks almost as big as the adults!

From Bird Watch:
High in a leafless cottonwood, a female Great Horned Owl incubates two eggs. As light snow falls on her back, her mate roosts nearby. Since December, this pair has been hooting back and forth regularly at night. Great Horned Owls nest in winter, because the owlets, which hatch after a month of incubation, must remain near their parents a long time compared to many other birds -- right through summer and into early fall.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

Interesting! I had no idea they had their chicks that early with the nasty weather they would have to contend with then. We had a couple in the tree over our camp near TenSleep a couple years ago, but I don't know what they were. Here is a picture I got of one in the evening twilight.