In My Garden Blog
June 19, 2008
Mid-Atlantic
By
Charlotte Kidd,
Radnor, PA
A young great horned owl is called a jumper because it jumps from the nest before learning to fly.
Who Who Whooo's There?
Weeding under a viburnum, Angela was startled by something in the branches. She looked up to see a small, fluffy, gray-and-white great horned owl perched with eyes closed. For the next hour while we oohed, aahed, and took photos, the owl slowly turned its head toward us, opened one eye, then the other, before closing both and settling into what looked like a calm nap.
Bernie Morris, past president and field trip chairman for the Lehigh Valley Audubon Society, wasn't surprised. Late May into June is fledgling time for young great horned owls. "They call the young great horned owls 'jumpers,'" Morris said. "They jump from their nest and walk around a bit. A cat would be smart to stay away."
"The best thing to do is to leave them alone," he cautioned. "They're not helpless. They can really give you a terrible puncture wound with their talons."
Commonly Heard, Seldom Seen
Great horned owls and screech owls are common in urban and suburban areas, said Doug Wechsler, ornithologist at The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. "Great horned owls cover almost every sort of habitat in North America -- from tundra to forest to mountains and cities." That's because their diet is quite varied, mostly mammals like skunks, mice, small possums, rats, squirrels, little rabbits, and the occasional pigeon or other bird. Owls are important as predators for keeping these populations intact. The typical great horned lives eight, nine years, though some have survived two decades.
This youngster is one of two, said Lucy, the property owner. "They're both more fuzz than feathers. They were just sitting on my front stoop one evening when Charlie and I came back from our walk. We just stood there transfixed while they clicked at us." Clicking their bills could mean a call to their parents to feed them, or a signal to keep away. Experts agree that parents may attack if their fledgling is threatened.
"Both parents are probably around and will stay with the young at least until fall," said Wechsler, author of Great Horned Owls in the PowerKids press series, The Really Wild Life of Birds of Prey. "It takes the young awhile to learn how to hunt efficiently. Owls are born early when summer food is plentiful and they have time to learn how to catch it."
Adults feed fledglings whatever they can catch, said Morris. "They are slow, stealthy hunters, active at night. The great horned is the biggest owl. It roosts in trees and has no natural predators except for man. A favorite food is skunk. Another is chicken, he discovered when one owl raided his chicken coup.
Fledglings can fly at seven weeks when body feathers replace downy feathers, Wechsler said. A true bird enthusiast, he imitated the great horned's most common call: "Who, who, whooo ... who, who." Listen for the great horned owl's call at night, especially in late fall and winter.
add a comment
Comments on Who Who Whooo's There?
We welcome your questions and comments about this column. If
you have gardening questions unrelated to the column, please ask
them on our message boards.
add a comment
Carol ---Washingtonville, NY
Two years ago I had an awesome experience with great horned owls.
It started around the end of February with a strange sound like an
ascending screech. It was dark and I could hear the sound from a few
different areas in the woods near our house. The next morning I was
surprised to see a white furry ball nestled in the branches of an
evergreen. The next few months seemed like a bounded experience with
the two jumpers and one adult. The owls would make themselves
obvious to me when I would walk the dogs in the early morning.
Seeing them and hearing them "answer" back to me when I imitated
their sound was an awesome and unforgetable experience for me.
Lately I have heard that same sound in our woods but have not seen
them.
add a comment
Charlotte Kidd
Wow, Carol. How amazing! To watch and hear two fledglings and a
parent coming into their own - over such an extended time. And to
have that early morning ritual with them.... How fortunate for you.
Gives me goosebumps.
Homeowner Lucy emailed she saw the fledglings with one parent around
the corner in a tree on her recent dog walk. Wrote the adult was
watching her watch them.
Thanks so much for sharing your unique experience.
Charlotte
|
