Two Great Gray Owlets await mommy or daddy from their lofty nest in a large Tamarack.
I had the great fortune of having a good friend who was willing to share the location of a Great Gray Owl nest he had found recently. Kim Risen is a professional bird guide based out of Tamarack, Minnesota, who leads birding trips across the globe, from South Africa to South America to Costa Rica to Mexico and even in his ‘backyard’ of northern Minnesota. Kim found this nest on a June trip with a client. He’d seen young in this general vicinity several times over several different years. He graciously shared the site with me.
I first visited the Black Spruce/Tamarack bog with Kim and his wife Cindy on June 18th and made several more visits, the last on June 28th. Two owlets were in the nest until at least June 24th, then must have “flew the coup” around June 27th or 28th when we found them on the ground.
VIDEO SHOWING BEHAVIOR & COMMENTARY ON FAVORITE PHOTOS (7 MINUTES)
You can see more of my wildlife videos HERE
Note mom in the bottom left corner of the image…She was never very far away. The young were generally silent…until they saw an adult when they gave a loud screech (can hear it late in the video). But the female often gave a rising “Whoop!” call. Robert Nero, one of the world’s foremost authorities on Great Gray Owls, says this call “is often given by the female on the nest as a means of communicating with the male.” Robert Taylor, author of The Great Gray Owl: On Silent Wings calls this is “food request call” and it is given more frequently during years of low vole supplies. It likely helps the male find the female too as he delivers the food to her so she can feed the owlets. May this also be the female’s form of communication with the owlets?…”You’re okay…I’m right here.”
On June 28th I went to photograph the owlets from my blind…But I saw no action in the nest. Just as I was contemplating this, I simultaneously heard my cell phone ring as well as a screech from ground level. I assumed the screech was one of the owlets who’d left the nest. It was Kim on the phone and he was in the bog and had seen the young on the ground. As he was talking I found one of the owlets ‘teed up’ on a stump… “Found one! Gotta go.” I set up my tripod and folding chair, then draped camo netting over myself and started shooting. The owlet stared at me for 20 minutes without taking its eyes off me, though its posture relaxed over this time. Then when he/she was comfortable that I was not a predator, the owlet started to look around, and even stretch.
STREEEEETCH! FRAME EXTRACTED FROM VIDEO CLIP. The young Great Grays often stretched like this…Working their flight muscles I imagine. Fortunately he was facing me head on and gave me this unique perspective. [Note that when you extract a frame from a HD video clip you only get a 1920x1080pixel image to work with…and it’s shot at 1/60 second…and its basically a jpeg. Very limited use, but fine for the web].
Though the owlets can’t fly at this age, they sure can get around! They will walk across the bog then climb leaning trees and stumps by using their talons for grip and using their beak to grab branches like a parrot, pulling themselves up, wings held over their back for balance.
The ticket to not alarming wild critters is to move slowly, stay low, avoid eye contact, and talk to them in a low soft voice (don’t whisper!). And stay in plain sight so you are not mistaken for a sneaky predator. I got very close to this owlet…Close enough to use my 10-20mm lens with full flash. I love the low angle and wide perspective which really puts the owl in its habitat.
Eye-level shot with Canon 400mm f5.6. I WISH I’d put my big flash and Better Beamer on! The images looked okay on the LCD but there is a weird greenish cast from the light filtering down through the canopy. Live and learn!
The sibling to the owlet on the stump, is this fuzzball. I found him/her on a comfy cozy patch of super-soft Sphagnum moss. I laid on my belly, crawled towards her (got soaking wet!) and inched to within a foot of her/him. He/she began bill clacking, an alarm signal, so I snapped a few photos (full flash) and backed off.
I wish this little family well and hope they find many fat voles!
[All photos and video taken with Canon 7D and Canon 400mm f5.6 lens or Sigma 10-20mm lens, Canon 580EX flash, Cabela’s Lightning Set pop-up blind, Manfrotto tripod]
17 responses to “Dream Come True: Witness to a Great Gray Owl nest”
wadeen baribeau
July 31st, 2013 at 09:09
awesome photos; what a wonderful way to start the morning
for me viewing your wildlife 🙂
Sparky Stensaas
August 1st, 2013 at 08:10
Thanks Wadeen!
Earl Orf
July 31st, 2013 at 10:31
Congratulations, Sparky. Nice video, I enjoyed seeing the behaviors of the owlets. By the way, your Vimeo link gave an error, I had to click on the other link in this posting to see the video. Earl Orf http://www.earlorfphotos.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/EarlOrfPhotos
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Sparky Stensaas
August 1st, 2013 at 08:09
Hi Earl, Thanks! I’ll see if I can fix the link.
Christa
July 31st, 2013 at 12:10
Awesome! I love owls and I’m currently training to specialize in owl rehabilitation in the Duluth area. I also just started taking photography classes so I found the camera information very interesting and helpful! Class last night was on lighting. I’ll have to ask the instructor what a Beamer is! lol
Sparky Stensaas
August 1st, 2013 at 08:07
Hi Christa, Thanks! A Better Beamer is an attachment for your hot-shoe flash. It basically attaches a fresnel lens in front of the flash in order to throw the light further. Pretty important for certain types of bird photography….low light, birds in shadows etc. Good luck with the owl rehab!
Milt blomberg
July 31st, 2013 at 13:04
super!…like your additional natural history, nature notes, tid-bits incorporated into your writing. mjb
Sparky Stensaas
August 1st, 2013 at 08:07
Thanks Milt! Owl biology is really interesting.
Letizia
July 31st, 2013 at 13:21
What amazing photos!
Juliet Minard-Stensaas
July 31st, 2013 at 16:19
Wow, I almost feel like I was in the bog, too!
Sparky Stensaas
August 1st, 2013 at 08:09
Thanks Juliet! I think it’s the whine of the mosquitos…they are the true essence of the bog!
Mike Powell
August 1st, 2013 at 05:15
Wow. These shots are amazing, truly dreams do come true. Congratulations. I’m still in shock, a baby owl photographed with a 10-20mm lens.
Sparky Stensaas
August 1st, 2013 at 08:04
Thanks Mike…owlets are very tolerant and curious…I just don’t linger long so mom doesn’t get upset!
Pinetree Photo Nature Discovery
August 1st, 2013 at 07:03
Incredible shots and experience. I think the first one with the two owlets peering around the branch is my favorite.
Sparky Stensaas
August 1st, 2013 at 08:03
Thanks Carol…I like that one too…Siblings
Pamela Benson
August 1st, 2013 at 10:39
Simply amazing, Sparky! Wonderful shots!!
Sue
August 2nd, 2013 at 19:37
Great video, and wonderful shots of this somewhat rare (to me) owl. Thanks for the vicarious experience tracking them through the swamp!