Female Great Horned Owl and two of her owlets pose for a photo in their nest in a large oak tree.

The day was perfect for shooting – light overcast mixed with clouds and a few moments of sunshine, no rain. For the first hour nothing much was happening, tried to get shots of the babies but they were mostly sleeping. Then Dad arrived and perched up high. Even though he looks like he is asleep, he is really keeping one eye cracked watching his kids.

A little while later Mom arrived with a late breakfast of “Common Moorhen”.  She flew from tree to tree with the moorhen in her grasp getting closer and closer and finally landing on the nest. She systematically tore chunks of moorhen and fed each owlet. They all waited patiently for their turn to eat. The last bite was a leg, and when the owlets didn’t want it she ate it.

The oldest owlet jumped up on the tree stump and Mom and two babies posed for a family portrait. (there are a total of 3 babies) When I moved in to get a close portrait of the owlet on the stump, he gave me a threat display – “Don’t come any closer, see how big and mean I can look.”

You can view a slide show of the images HERE.
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