Faithful Parent
This great horned owl kept a close eye on its recently fledged youngsters over the course of several weeks. The owls were usually in sight from the auto tour at Ridgefield and became the stars of the spring at the refuge. I saw them many times but usually not in great light, so it was nice to see them in the warm light near sunset. Unfortunately the gates of the refuge close fairly early so I had to leave the owls before I wanted and head towards the exit.
Downy Soft
My downy feathers are huggably soft,
My beak and talons are huggably not.
My beak and talons are huggably not.
Who am I?
I'll Fly When I'm Good and Ready, Thank You Very Much
Even at such a young age, this part of the owl is less huggable than the previous picture. While driving the auto tour at Ridgefield this past May, I came across a few people who had stopped in the forest. Two great horned owls had just fledged, one had taken its first flight but this one wasn't quite so eager to test its wings.
This is the first shot I took, unfortunately it was severely overexposed but while I took more pictures of the owl, it never again looked at me, apparently unimpressed by my beak and talons. One of the parents was keeping a close eye on its young charge, who was more in a mood to sleep than to learn to fly.
I didn't see it take the leap that day but for the next month the two young owls could be seen from the road, although much farther into the forest, with one of the adults always close by.