A Great Horned Owl Family in Sun City

Just one of many, many similar families nesting this spring

Springtime is a nice season to look for breeding birds and to observe breeding bird behavior. I’ve always enjoyed looking for nesting Great Horned Owls at this time of year. Owls are interesting to see and to photograph, and during this time of year they remain in one spot for a few months, making it easier to spot them. One particular nest I followed this year was in a conspicuous tree next to a parking lot in front of a community center in Sun City, Rancho Vistoso.

Great Horned Owlets begin to leave the nest around the age of 6 weeks, a process called “branching”. They begin taking short flights soon afterwards but it takes a few weeks to master flight.

When I visited the nest late in April, all three owlets were out of the nest. Most of the soft white downy feathers have been replaced by mottled brown and white juvenile plumage. The facial disc has developed and the owls were not quite adult size yet. You can see two of this owl’s four talons. One of three toes in the front has turned towards the back. This allows for a stronger grip for catching prey and also holding onto branches when they perch.

One of the young Owls had dropped out of the nest. It was not yet able to fly but, like many other owls in this situation, it found a safe place to spend the days. (This is a common occurrence and when it happens the parent Great Horned Owls are quite comfortable and capable of taking care of their young.) When that little Owl was discovered there, the humans on site roped off the stairwell to ensure that people wouldn’t disturb this bird.

You can see how well this bird’s wing feathers have grown. There is still some ‘baby’ down near the bottom of the Owlet’s front but it is also beginning to grow out the feather tufts on top of its head.

Back to the Owlet in the tree, at one point it took a hop along the branch to get closer to Mom.

Another Owlet was on the same branch. It, too, moved closer to Mom. This bird was the youngest of the three. You can see much more of its first, soft down on this bird’s belly. Under its wings you can see what are called pin feathers. Those stiff, white tubes under the wing are new feathers growing out from the Owl’s skin. The feather barbs are wrapped tightly at this point and the feather will unfurl as the keratin sheath of the feathers wears off.

Something has happened to the nest by this time. We couldn’t tell whether the wind brought it down or something else caused it to collapse, but the birds were fine without it. It did make it a bit more difficult for the young bird to lay down but it found the right set of branches to support it.

Having found the perfect resting spot, the young Owlet proceeded to take a cat nap!

Four days later, each of the young Great Horned Owls had grown and all of the Owls had left the nest tree. One was settled into a nearby palm tree for the afternoon. I couldn’t find the second Owlet, but I’m sure it was spending the afternoon in one of the many trees. Mom was nowhere to be seen either but the parents always perch closely to their young.

Meanwhile, the third and youngest bird, had found a mesquite tree in the parking lot to perch in during the day.

Great Horned Owl parents continue to feed their young even after they leave the nest and begin to fly. The parents may continue to feed their young for a few months while they are learning to hunt and developing flight strength. The adults are very protective of their young and will aggressively defend them from potential predators or intruders. It was nice to see this Great Horned Owl family develop so well.