Nesting Season for Great Horned Owls

Always an entertaining time for me

But first, an update on our Birdathon: Some friends and I have been raising money to support the many good things that Tucson Bird Alliance does in our Tucson community. You can learn more about Tucson Bird Alliance here. Last week we went on our Birdathon field trip. We went out early to beat the heat and saw 31 species that morning! I will post a full report on our team efforts at the end of the month. In the meantime, at the bottom of this post, I’ll share the names of our latest generous donors and provide a link to anyone interested in donating to our team. Thanks!!!

We are in the middle of nesting season for Great Horned Owls in southern Arizona. The families are in varying stages of the season and Great Horned Owls, which don’t make their own nests, are known to inhabit a variety of nesting locations. Great Horned Owls take well to man-made nests.

Often Great Horned Owls in our area use nests that had been built in a previous year by Cooper’s Hawks, Red-tailed Hawks or Ravens.

In some of the nests, either the eggs have not hatched or the young are not old enough to show themselves, so Mom is all you can see at this time. This Owl is sitting in a nice man-made nest.

In some nests the young are getting bigger and Mom will begin to spend time outside of the nest.

Some of the Owlets have already fledged. They have left the nest and are on nearby branches. They are not able to fly yet and are still covered with some youthful downy feathers.

Many of the Owlets are still in the nest and at their Mother’s side.

Besides using the nests that other birds built or using man-made nests, Great Horned Owls may also use just about any flat surface that is in a hospitable area. The Owl in the photo below is using an opening in the concrete under a bridge in Pima County. That whitewash on the cement tells us this isn’t the first time Owls have utilized this space for either a roost or a nest.

And, speaking of Owls, here is an update from my Western Screech Owl nest box: a week ago the HawkWatch International nest survey revealed that there were four eggs in the nest on my porch!

I’m looking forward to the next month or two to watch my back porch nest and to visit some of the Great Horned Owl families throughout the Tucson area.

Our Birdathon efforts continue in support of Tucson Bird Alliance. Thank you to Peggy S., Justine H., Anonymous#2, Mindy B., Linda P., Mort W., Marianne C., Susan W., Sharon J., Anonymous#3, and Ned H. for your kind donations to our Birdathon efforts. Our team “Birdies, Bogeys, and Eagles” is raising money throughout the month for the Tucson Bird Alliance. You can read more about it on our Birdathon Team page here. If you wish to donate, please remember to list our team name. Thank you!!