06/10/2026
In January I broke my leg. I was not able to walk for two months. The first thing I did when I was finally able to walk again in March was to put on ice spikes and explore an area where I had a feeling there might be a great horned owl. When I arrived, I immediately heard the owl calling, then a second answering, I was able to find one of the owls. I was so excited, as great horned owls are very uncommon here. The next day, both my wife and I began a journey of witnessing these owls having a nest, owlets, and the owlets fledging into the spring! It first started with finding a crow nest that looked like it was being used by the owls. Due to its location, we couldn't see inside so could not tell for sure if there was an owl on the nest. We returned to the site daily for a month, seeing one owl each time. During one week, we heard what sounded like an owlet on the ground below the nest. We were very excited but also very worried as our spring was really horrible weather this year and we worried for the owlets safety. We didn't want to get too close and cause stress, but could hear it on the ground for many days. I was also very busy with fox kits and dens. Between my wife and I, we were able to witness the growth of these owlets in the nest, and all the parenting that went with it! It has been a truly amazing experience to follow this family for 3 months now. I am sure they know us and are very comfortable with our presence. We have had countless incredible encounters having visited the area at least 50 times. This past Friday, the owlets finally fledged, and we were there to watch. It was so cute to see the owlets clumsily flying, crash landing into trees. It is amazing how now, they are very comfortable and safe flyers. I wanted to wait until they had fledged and were safe before I shared this story and any images. I have a large number of amazing images from the past 3 months, here are just a few of my favorites, with many to follow in the next few weeks. I hope you enjoy them. Which is your favorite? Feel free to share!