Mr. and Mrs. Owl and Family

For several years, I have driven down the same road to and from work. One day this spring, before the trees started to sprout leaves, I saw something that looked like two large nests in a tree on the side of the road. As I looked more closely, I realized one of the objects was an extremely large nest and the other one that looked like a nest with actually a very large owl.

Sitting on the nest was a beautiful female Great Horned Owl. They don't really have horns; it's actually tufts of hair. In the nest, being kept warm and safe by the mother owl, were two white, fluffy baby owls.

Sitting on another branch a few feet away was the male. As we walked closer to the tree, he would fly off to try to lead us away from the nest. They were both very attentive to the protection of the nest and the babies. As we walked around the tree, they remained alert to our every move.

As I did a bit of research on these owls, I learned that their habitat includes all of North America and much of South America. They usually "steal" nests of other birds to use for laying their eggs. They are also very solitary, spending most of their time alone except during nesting season.

These birds are HUGE! I would guess they were 18-24 inches in height. They were certainly an awesome sight to see, both sitting in the tree and soaring across the landscape.