Tag Archives: GHO

As the sun goes down

Typically I check on ‘the babies’ many times a day. This evening there is a soft glow coming across the eagle nest onto Gabby and little NE24. The Japanese have a name for this particular light that shimmers down through the trees causing everything to appear slightly golden. It is komorebi and it is magical. It looks like the universe is laying a soft warm blanket around Gabby and NE24.

Just look into Gabby’s eyes gazing down on NE24. Pure love.

It is just turning 6pm. The setting sun is softly lighting the Spanish moss hanging down from the old tree, too. And up in that deep nest where Samson was born is Gabby and Samson’s little one, NE24. NE24 is nine days old today.

It is a Slash Pine tree. Sometimes these trees are called Swamp Pines because they grow in the watery swamps of Florida.

Samson’s parents, Romeo and Juliet, brought the very first twig for this nest for the 2008 breeding season. They placed twig after twig in that spectacular ‘V’ about eighty feet off the ground. And every year they added more. It is now estimated that the amount of sticks and leaf debris, moss, etc. making up the nest would weigh more than a metric tonne. For ten breeding seasons Romeo and Juliet successfully fledged every eaglet they reared in that nest, nineteen in all. There was plenty of food and little sibling rivalry.

No one knows anything about Gabrielle. She appeared one day, a female looking for a mate and Samson liked her out of all the others. We know that Samson was born on this very nest on 23 December 2013. He fledged on the 22nd of April 2014. Samson returned four years later and bonded with Gabrielle. Their first breeding season was 2019-20. The administrators for the NEFL Eagle cam named the eaglets Romy and Jules after Samson’s parents. Both fledged successfully.

The same soft glow of the day’s end falls over Bonnie, the GHO in the Eagle’s nest. Bonnie must be anticipating that her mate, Clyde, will come in with some treats for her. It has now been sometime since she had a meal because of the frigid temperatures. The temperature may stay in the range around 6 degrees F so there might be hope that those mice Bonnie loves will be running about tonight so Clyde can catch one for her.

As the sun set, Clyde was ready to wake up and go hunting. It wasn’t long until he brought Bonnie her first mouse of the evening.

I wish that my hearing and my eyesight were as good as Bonnie and Clyde’s. It is said that a Great Horned Owl has such good hearing that if a mouse steps on a twig they can hear it even if they are 23 metres away (75 feet). And, from observing Bonnie, we know that she really can turn her head for a complete 360 degree view. But, even though she is called a Great ‘Horned’ Owl, she doesn’t have any horns! How silly. But she does have those soft feathery tufts coming off of her incredible ears that resemble horns. Bonnie’s feathers are not hard like other raptors; they are very soft. The ends of Clyde’s feathers are round which allows him to fly virtually undetected – like a Stealth bomber – just not as fast. Bonnie hears him; she sits up in anticipation as he nears the nest (below).

Clyde flies into the nest with the mouse.
Bonnie quickly took the mouse.
After dinner they had a wee bit of a conversation.

We are so fortunate to be able to see the exchanges with these owls – what a rare treat! And aren’t they cute together?

Updates on all the gang will come later tonight. Have a fantastic day everyone.

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Thank you to NEFL Eagle cam and Derek the Farmer for their streaming cameras where I took my screen shots.

Does this look like an eagle to you?

This is a Kansas City Bald Eagle nest but this isn’t an eagle incubating eggs. No, it is a Great Horned Owl (GHO). She is brooding at least one egg. The egg cup is deep and there are probably more. GHOs typically have their nests in trees. Sometimes they will nest on deserted buildings and even on the ledges of cliffs. They have also been know to make their nests on platforms constructed by humans like the ones made for Osprey. Some have even been known to lay their eggs close to the ground, just like our Daisy Duck would have usually done. So, like Daisy the Duck, this owl has ‘borrowed’ a Bald Eagle’s nest for its eggs! And like Daisy, this own might pull downy feathers from his breast to line the egg cup. The farmer that owns the land where this eagle’s nest is located calls the mated pair of owls, Bonnie and Clyde after the notorious bank robbers. Normally, it would be Willie and Marie, the BE here. All of this happened about a week ago and it is believed that is when the GHO laid her egg.

Eagle fighting with GHO for the nest. Both are mantling.

The nest is high up in this tree. You can just see the Bald Eagle flying out after the fight with the owl.

Here you can see the eagle flying from the nest.

So far, the GHO is still in possession of this nest. Oh, my. This reminds me of the drama we had when Daisy the Pacific Black Duck laid her eggs on the White-Bellied Sea Eagles nest. So far, the owl is still there.

GHO sleeping, 12 February 2021.

When her mate brings her food, he leaves it on a tree branch and then does the beautiful hoot to her. So cute. As with the Pacific Black duck, I think we are going to learn a lot about Great Horned Owls.

It occurs to me that if there are not enough big tall trees left for the eagles to build their nest in, what about big trees for owls? Maybe they are also having a problem and needing to ‘borrow’. The farmer that owns the land says the Bald Eagles are OK and still in the area. I will keep you posted. Wonder if there is a possible eviction in the offing?

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Out in the world of the other birds who do have nests, here are some quick updates:

SWFL Eagle Nest: Harriet, M15, E18 and E17

E18 might have gone to bed with a small crop but right now its crop is bursting. The menu has included rabbit and fish but E18 was fed an entire rat. I am really hoping that rat hadn’t eaten rodenticide! I always worry about that when I see those on a nest. So, no worries. Both of these eagles are fed well and it is hot.

Big Bear: Shadow and Jackie, 2 eggs under incubation

You can’t see it but the winds are so strong they are just shaking the nest out in California. Eagles love the wind so Jackie is only suffering because it is a very cold and the wind is bringing that cold off the water.

NEFL: Samson and Gabby, E24

E24 is feisty! Look at that little one. It climbed even further and got entirely out of the nest bowl to get some of that fresh fish. What a cutie pie. Looks like a fluffy snowman with arms. It has been raining on their nest. Always brings in the flying critters. Hope that dissipates soon. And so hot and sticky.

Duke Farms Eagle Cam: 2 adults and 3 eggs under incubation

And wow, what a difference from Florida. The eagles here still have cold and snow.

The Trio over near Fulton, Illinois: Starr, Valor I and II.

The three were rumoured to have been working on the nest this morning. This is a shot from this afternoon. The temperatures are still rather frigid.

Royal Albatross, Taiaroa Head, NZ: LGL and LGK plus chick

Isn’t this the most beautiful lavender pink morning with the sun coming up over the peninsula where the Northern Royal Albatross have their nests. LGL is still on the nest with the ever growing chick. All is well way down south.

Solly, the Port Lincoln Osprey, 147 days old still seems to be at Eba Anchorage and Eba Island today.

It looks like there is going to be another adventure on a Bald Eagle nest. Who would have thought that in two months we would see a Pacific Black Duck and now a Great Horned Owl take over those beautiful big nests of the eagles?

Thank you to Derek Farmer and the streaming cam of the eagle nest at Kansas City, the American Eagle Federation for NEFL eagle cam and Big Bear, AEF and D Pritchett for the SWFL cam, the Stewards of the Mississippi for the streaming cam of the Trio, Port Lincoln Osprey and the researchers for the tracking information on Solly, Cornell and NZ DOC for the Royal Albatross, Duke Farms for their Eagle cam.