I was in central Vermont on another photography mission, so I decided to stop by and check out the Great Horned Owls even though last Saturday morning was very overcast, dark, and dreary. I prefer bright front light for birds.
When I arrived the nest was empty, but I decided to wait. After 10 minutes I spotted the owl at the top of a tall tree on the far side of the pond. Crows kept hassling it, but it held its ground for 5 minutes. Then it took off flying low to the water rising up as it neared the nest. It quickly turned its back to me and bent over the nest. When I later examined the photos from frame to frame, I could see a tiny whitish blob below its beak moving. The photo below is that action, but it is cropped and the chick is nearly impossible to spot without seeing a series of large versions.
Two minutes later the owl departed only to return to the far tree 5 or 6 minutes later. There it sat for 6 minutes or so before returning to the nest.
I was more prepared this time and managed to capture a sequence of the owl landing on its nest and sitting down.
Several minutes later its mate arrived and sat on an upper branch as shown above on the right and below.
Then a crow makes a pass at this owl.
A minute later there was another harassing pass near the owl.
Shortly thereafter the “upper” owl departed, followed by me. It was very enjoyable 35 minutes with two magnificent birds.
