When the Mercury Drops, Great Horned Owls Gear Up for Courtship
Credit: Teddy Llovet/CC BY-NC 2.0
Early each year, when snow still covers the ground and most migratory birds haven’t yet begun their journey north, great horned owls are already starting to nest around the country.
In these frigid winter months males hoot for females—hoo-hoo hoooooo hoo-hoo—swelling their white bibs and bowing around any ladies they attract. If the male catches her fancy, they seal the deal by both bowing and hooting at each other; the birds will remain mates for years or even the rest of their lives.
These remarkable birds will nest just about anywhere. Their nesting habitat is the most diverse out of any bird in the country, ranging from desert to grassland, forest to suburban areas. They’ll also nest on virtually any surface—abandoned buildings, other bird’s previously constructed nests, manmade structures, trees, and even on the ground. The one-to-four eggs they lay incubate for about a month, and the chicks fledge 45-49 days after hatching.
To keep the family fed, the powerful birds—they weigh up to five pounds and their wingspan is nearly five feet—prey on a wide variety of creatures, including those that other birds may shy away from, like stinging scorpions, smelly skunks, and even large birds, such as herons (check out the video below of an owl going after a great blue heron on its nest!). Primarily nocturnal perch hunters, their strong talons and hooked beaks allow them to pounce and tear prey.
While great horned owl populations are healthy, their voracious appetites can pose risks to the conservation of other avian species. In the 1970s, for example, great horned owls dined on young peregrine falcons and, as a result, were primarily responsible for wiping out half of the species’ population in the eastern United States. This was a devastation and setback to the peregrine falcons, a species recovering from near-extinction due to the effects of DDT. To give peregrines a better chance, biologist reintroduced them outside great horned owls’ territory. Some species, however, have learned to fight back. Crows, a common meal for great horned owls, will gather in large flocks and travel great distances to mob the predators and yell at them for hours at a time.
Now, at the onset of their nesting season, is the best time to get out and look for great horned owls. While the elusive birds can prove difficult to spot for even experienced birders, the chances of espying them now is heightened with the absence of leaves on trees. Their nests are exposed and an ear tuft popping out of a nest will often give the nest location away. Dusk is also a great time to spot great horned owls, as they tend to fly over roads and fields, and their big heads and broad winged silhouettes make them easy to identify.
It’s important to keep a respectable distance when viewing any bird, but it’s particularly important to stay back when watching great horned owls—they’ll fly at any intruder and possibly strike them.
TAKE PART: Be sure to contact your local Audubon chapter to sign up for an evening owl prowl.
Comments
Crows mobbing
We have known for a while that corvids - crows, magpies, jays - are smart birds, and that in the past decade or two we've discovered just how smart crows really are.
From the fact that they will plan a mob to harrass owls and other predators, and not just do it opportunistically, does this suggest that they have an awareness of mortality? We generally assume only humans have that awareness, until after the fact - considering that we now admit that many animals recognize and mourn a death.
Animal Awareness
All living and breathing animals have awareness and feelings. Even plants do. No one has to test, torture or abuse an animal to know that. My cats and I share love. Birds, like other species have always shown awareness and feelings. Some, mimic and talk and repeat what the person says. They are smart and well deserving of love and kindness.
GHO
Would you please describe the difference between the cooing of the mourning dove and the GHO hoot?
GHO
Would you describe the difference between the cooing of the mourning dove and the hooting of the GHO??
Coo vs. hoot
Give the calls a listen.
GHO, from Cornell's Macaulay Library.
Mourning dove, also from the Macaulay Library.
The library just opened its extensive collection of bird calls. Check them out!
Great Horned Owls
We have watched a pair that nests in a hole in a sandstone cliff, for several years. They typically raise 3 to 4 young, although the 4th is often weaker or appears to need special care. The same pair begins to hoot back and forth in late December or January and usually she is on the nest by Valentines Day. He stands guard all day in a tree with a clear view of the nest. This pair are the stars of the area. Literally dozens of people keep abreast of the progress.
Owls
Loved this posting. I am truly blessed in that I have one pair each of Great Horneds, Barn Owls and Barred Owls living within 200-300 yds of my house. (I live on a small farm surrounded by a thousand acres of dense woods interspersed with tall grass prairie meadows and intersected by a creek.) It can't be the same pair, but I have had a pair of GHOs nesting in a huge cottonwood tree visible from my office window for 11 years now. I see and hear the Barred Owls and Barn owls fairly regularly, but I watch the GHOs every evening at dusk from Christmas until late January. They put on quite a show for 3-4 weeks and then I never see more than one at a time until flying lessons for the youngsters begins in June/July.
I am a committed birder with hundreds of birds of many species at my feeders every day, but I regard these owls as my "special" friends. Even though I have been dive-bombed twice in the past 11 years while walking too close to the tree that contains the nest. Scared the bejesus out of me both times so I give that tree a wide berth between Thanksgiving and Easter.
I really enjoyed this post.
I really enjoyed this post. Thank you!
I really enjoyed this post.
I really enjoyed this post. Thank you!
MODS!!! How about we get rid
MODS!!!
How about we get rid of the spam in Arabic?
Its inappropriate, I came here to read about owls.
Spam
We apologize. Our spam filter doesn't always catch all of the spam, and while we check the blog frequently for spam, we can't catch everything immediately.
Great Horned Owls
Thank you. I just this past week heard a pair but could not spot them.
One whooed in a deeper tone and other overlapped same rhythm but
on a higher note. I knew they were a pair but had no idea they were possibly pairing, mating or getting together to renew their bond. Thank you.
I was in Queensbury, visiting my MOM, now I will go out at dusk and see it I can find them again. What joy!
Nature photographer for hire
If anyone needs a nature photographer email me please
???
Since when did this forum turn into an employment website?
please use the proper website for this type of thing. If I needed a nature photographer, you would be dropped to the bottom of the list because you lack good judgment. Let us enjoy the discussion on topic without your selfish intrusion.
Great Horned Owl
Now I know what all the hootenanny was all about. I would hear two owls loudly hosting back and forth for hours sometimes usually in the late evening. I participated sometimes and a 3-way hoot going on. Thanks for this info. Wooo Hoo Hoo Hoooooo ;-)
Great post!
Excellent post! You did a great job summarizing a lot of information about GHOs in a brief space-well done! I have been observing, documenting and doing outreach with a pair of GHOs for over seven years. Please check out my blog Forest Park Owls, forestparkowls.blogspot.com , to learn more about these owls and my work with them. Thank you!