Great Gray Owls

GREAT GRAY OWLS (Strix nebulosa)

     In 2015, a pair of Great Gray Owls (Strix nebulosa) nested at GROWISER. It was the third year

they had nested…but this spring and summer proved to be an exceptional "birding" experience

for everyone who visited.

     The mother was first sited on the nest, March 4th. In early April, it was obvious that the chicks

had started to hatch. By May 8th, four chicks had fledged the nest. Normally, the male would

have then fed the fledglings until they were able to hunt on their own…about three months later.

On May 9, the male Gray was killed by a Great Horned Owl. The event of the Gray being carried off

by the Horned was actually witnessed, about 1/4 mile from the nest.

     The female immediately began hunting, to feed herself and her family.

     We made the decision, after consulting owl experts, to try to feed the mother...expecting she

would then feed the young owls.

     We knew the field where the mother normally hunted. On May 13, within sight of the hunting

mother, we attached a live mouse to a block of wood. She immediately came and got it. She flew

back to the woods, and gave it to one of the fledglings. She took a total of four mice that first

evening. We knew we were in business :)

     The community came together, providing traps and rodents, and lots of encouragement. We

caught live mice and voles, and fed the mother all summer long. By early July, all four siblings

were taking the rodents from us, and hunting on their own. The mother stopped feeding them on

July 13. When last seen, in mid-August, 2015, they were all healthy and happy.

     More details of the story are published in Leigh Calvez's book, "The Hidden Lives of Owls: The

Science and Spirit of Nature's Most Elusive Birds" available from Amazon beginning Aug 16, 2016:

https:/www.amazon.com/Hidden-Lives-Owls-Science-Natures-ebook/dp/B018CH0MYG/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1463524236&sr=8-7&keywords=calvez

                                                                                                                                                                                                 Photos by Andy Huber

When the mother owl saw the mouse on the block of wood, she did not hesitate to come after it, May 13, 2015.

The mother Great Gray Owl on ponderosa pine.

For the 48 days she had been on the nest, the father had provided all her food.

Luckily, it was a great year for rodents in the fields.

We set the traps each evening, and harvested the catch each morning.

Before the father had been killed, one chick fell from the nest, and could not yet climb a tree. It was not being fed, so we put it up on a branch. The parents then fed it immediately :)

Meanwhile, Mom watched patiently, from about 50 feet away.

The first chick to "fly" from the nest, left on May 5th, 15 days after the mother left the nest on April 21st. The chick climbed a shrub the first day.

Alone, at last! Now I can get some sleep :)

The necessary ability of Great Gray Owls to climb trees is used only in the first few days after leaving the nest. This chick did it within a few hours.

Satisfied...only for a moment.

The easiest way up, is to use a broken tree. The fallen chick found one.

Each of the chicks was able to climb higher the first day. Some used my cut off trees, and others used shrubs.

But without flight feathers, it's no easy task to keep a ball of down airborne.

Elevation also provides a safe place to rest.

Mom!

On May 9, 2015, the father Great Gray Owl was taken by a Great Horned owl.

Great Horned Owl...controversially...provided a great owling experience.

Now what...Mom?

She immediately knew what had happened. After that day, she never hooted again, except to warn the chicks of danger. I had imagined that she had been constantly vocalizing to them. Instead, it had been to her mate, out hunting.

Leigh Calvez, writing a book about owls, had a plan. "Let's feed them!"

Leigh suggested putting a mouse on a block of wood. Mother Gray came flying in! The rest is history :)

Mother Gray quickly realized that the buckets we carried had rodents in them.

Success! May 13, 2015. Four days after the male Great Gray had been killed.

Camouflaged safely. When the father was killed, the chicks were just learning to fly. They were still in the dense forest near the nest.

Now to feed those hungry kids.

Fledgling, May 27, 2015, after being fed for two weeks.

Great Gray Owl, mother feeding fledgling.

Thank you Mom!

Two weeks after leaving the nest, the fledglings have well developed wing feathers, but can not yet hunt for themselves.

Rarely would we see the mother and multiple fledglings together.

Mother feeding offspring...always an intimate moment.

I'm next! May 28,2015.

Fledgling showing eyes with nictitating membranes, June 13, 2015.

Fledgling in mid-June, with half feathers and half down.

A couple of the fledglings had problems with their eyes during late June and early July. This one looks like a tired teenager. June 19, 2015.

The weather was warm, so they would lower their wings to release more heat. June 28 was our hottest day of 2015, at 97F.

Mother Gray continued to ferry food to the fledglings through early July, when they could hunt some, and get rodents from me.

She never seemed to tire of answering the calls of her offspring.

In early July, Leigh asked where the nearest water source was. That made me realize I could put water on a platform. The fledglings used it immediately.

Soooo refreshing!

On July 13, the mother owl gave two mating calls, as if she heard someone. It was the first time she had vocalized like that since the male had been killed on May 9.

"Once you look into the eyes of a Great Gray Owl, you're never the same."

On August 1, a forest fire erupted, less than 5 miles from the owls.

The owls were always concerned when aircraft were overhead.

Fortuitously, several days earlier a friend had brought a genuine birdbath.

Splashdance!

I'm as pretty as a turkey!

Everyone enjoys water.

Are you okay?!!

Tom James, wildlife photographer extraordinaire, drove from Portland nearly every week. He brought live mice, frozen rats, and the bird bath :)

Well, what do you look like when you just get out of the shower?

Luckily, at 90F, it won't take all day.

By the end of July, the owlets were comparable in size with the mother.

Their mother had taught them how to hunt, and to get the food I provided.

They provided us with an interesting view of life.

We learned to appreciate the role that raptors play in maintaining an ecosystem.

Great, indeed!

We never tired of enjoying their beauty and grace.

She seemed unbothered by the fact that we were standing nearby.

After delivering the rodent, she would immediately come back for more. That caused her to get warm, so she lowered her wings to help cool herself.

Now she had to get rodents not only for herself, but for the four offspring too.

The biologists at Eastern Oregon University provided over 100 live mammal traps.

Friends from as far as Portland, also brought rodents for the cause.

One day, while mom was offering food, the excited chick fell. I quickly got the ladder and put her back up.

Being in the Sun is always Fun!

That left two chicks on the nest. One left on May 7th and the last on May 8th.

The old Cooper's Hawk nest had been built over a decade earlier and had served them well for some years. The Grays had used it for at least three years. At the end of 2015, it was no longer usable.

After that, it's all about mastering the wings.

After gaining some altitude, the chick was ready to try its wings. Though it did crash, and had to climb another tree.

At last, a place where I can lie down. Surrounded by their own down comforter, the chicks are well equipped for freezing temperatures.

Always with the purpose of gaining height to try to fly.

Within a couple of days, however, they were all traveling from tree to tree.

All the while, knowing that someone is watching.

She was ever vigilant and continuously vocalizing. Dad was only seen during food deliveries.

Feathers!!!

The site was 1/4 mile from the nest.

May 10, 2015. Mother's Day. Mom was clearly depressed.

How to protect and feed four chicks, and myself, with no mate??? It's enough to make a mother owl pull her feathers out!

Thank You!

She quickly learned to deal with the stapled tail. Soon I was able to kill the rodent, and set it on the block. She would then often take it on-the-fly!

With the speed at which she adapted to our feeding system, she indeed proved to be a wise owl.

Often there was a very real sense of gratitude.

During the next three weeks, however, Mother Gray led the young fledglings on a half-mile circle. She went to a more open ponderosa forest, before returning them to the original nest site.

Listening for the loudest.

Three of the four fledglings that Mom had to feed.

Great Gray Owl, swallowing a mouse. I can't watch!

In the sunshine, the mother "Gray" appears to be brown, while the fledgling is gray.

The brown owl is well camouflaged against the ponderosa pine, in full sunlight. But in the shade of the dense forest, she will appear to be gray.

Generally, the one who squawks the loudest gets fed first.

Great Gray Owl mother feeding fledglings.

Three weeks after she moved the troupe to the rather open, ponderosa site, Mother Gray led them all back to the dense forest near the nest. She spent the next 6 weeks teaching them to hunt.

Great Gray fledgling camouflaged with lichen, June 14, 2015. By this time, they were all practicing hunting on their own, but with very little success.