Healthy owl population is a sign of a balanced ecosystem

Great Horned Owl adult and two owlets, 2018. More photos here.

I recently woke (about 5 AM) to the call of a Great Horned Owl. This is the easiest owl to identify because of its ear tufts. However, because I heard it before dawn, I could not get a photograph. 

Pat recently saw a Barred Owl in the neighborhood while walking - likely the one many of us have sighted or heard in the last half year. Here is its call. 

And, I occasionally hear the call of the Eastern Screech Owl. (Tell me if you ever hear its call.)

All this (Wildewood owl sightings and sounds) is good news. Joel Satore, an inspiration to create this website, says that "a healthy owl population is a sign of a balanced ecosystem. (Follow him on Instagram.)

In order for owls to thrive, populations of the species they prey upon must be abundant and healthy as well - a pattern that continues down the entire food chain. This means that if the health or number of prey species declines, something in the environment has changed and is altering the natural structure of the food web. A world without owls would spell trouble for humans, as their role as a top predator of rodents protects us from the spread of diseases and protects our crops from being raided."

Great-horned owlets working with the weather

Image: I took this photo at 7:30 PM; 4/15/18. Bradenton, FL

Last weekend we had high winds and drenching rain. So I decided to see how the owlets were handling the weather.

What did I see? 

Two wet Great Horned Owlets hunkered down and looking out. If someone had taken a photo of me taking this photo, I looked just like them — crouched low, hidden in the brush, soaked by heavy rain, looking out and up.

Seeing them brought a feeling of kinship with all beings:

“We can use our difficulties and problems to awaken our heart...rather than seeing the unwanted aspects of life as obstacles, we can start where we are...if we are willing to stand in our own shoes and never give up on ourselves, then we will be able to put ourselves in the shoes of others and never give up on them.” (Pema Chodron, from her book Start Where You Are)

Owlet has a sibling!

I briefly peeked and noticed Great Horned Owlet in a fluffy nap. Then I walked around the tree (from a safe distance). Guess what, owlet has a sibling.

That white fluff on the right is the owlet I photographed above. Here is owlet #2 and adult.

Owlet #1, still sleeping.

Great Horned Owlet

I'm still reveling about this Easter morning basket, I mean nest. I saw and photographed this owlet and wondered, is this a Barred Owl or Great Horned Owl?

And then the adult popped up. The "ear" tufts on the adult confirmed a Great Horned Owl.

I noticed that they were as curious about me as I was of them. Keeping the ABA Code of Birding Ethics in mind, I walked quietly and slowly, took photos from a distance, and did not stay long. 

Then they took a nap. (Oh, good. I'm not a threat.)

I left feeling elated and lucky.

I hear a Great Horned Owl many early mornings and know it by its call (who-who-who-whooooo), yet have not had a sighting since moving back to Bradenton four years ago. "Owls are almost invisible to us, and their presence is easy to miss, except when they happen to be vocal." (Bernd Heinrich) 

Making an acquaintance with a wild baby owl and its protective parent is a gift.

NOTES 
This nest is not in Wildewood Springs, but nearby. 

Sighting, 4/1/18; 2:10 PM. Bradenton, FL.

Camping out while in my bed.

It's like camping out while in my bed. I open the over-sized sliding glass doors on each side of my bedroom to enjoy the cross ventilation and, well, to feel like I'm outdoors while in the comfort of my bed. 

This is what it looks like if I turn my head the other way.

An oversized sliding glass door opens to a courtyard. A "Tim Seibert-special" wood-louvered window is open. More breeze.

Seeing the light leave the room and enter in the morning is one of my favorite pleasures.

Besides the gift of hearing the breeze rustle the palm fronds, I woke to the call of a Great Horned Owl this morning! I didn't see it. But, I knew it by its call. It sounded like THIS. 

A Great Horned Owl. Photograph, Susan Michael Barrett

Save Our Birds, on the grounds of Mote Marine on the south end of Longboat Key, Florida.

A visit to Save Our Seabirds to see owls that likely live in our neighborhood

 Florida Great Horned Owl. This owl's wing hangs a bit. "It was kicked out of its nest by its parents who apparently sensed it was unable to sustain itself in the wild, a common event in the bird world (Save Our Seabirds)." 

I visited Save Our Seabirds on the south end of Longboat Key on the grounds of Mote Marine to see what birds they're rehabilitating and to study the owls and hawks. I am learning how to identify them by sight and call. I took all of these photographs.

I was surprised to see that they had six Great Horned Owls. I'll be listening for their "who hoo" calls at night—they certainly must be residing in our neighborhood.

Florida Great Horned Owl

Its tufts (also called plumicorns) are down which might mean it's not uptight with my presence. This bird was wide awake while 4 others in the large aviary space slept. They mate for life, have talons that extend 4 - 8 inches and incredible digestive systems (pellet out what's not digestible), oh, and the bird books say this owl is one of the few animals that think skunks are yummy.

Barred Owl

Barn Owl

I remember visiting my sister (over 20 years ago) who lived near the Manatee river off 26th Street. When I walked up to her door, a Barn owl owlet was on her doorstep. A nest was in a nearby yard. The owlet on her doorstep was learning to fly and resting there.