Mother Great-horned Owl

Another trip to Kapok Park with my friend, Margo, was very productive. This time, we saw the mother guarding the nest. Since I've already shared the photos of the baby and the father, I thought it only fitting that I share the photo of the mother.

Owls never go very far from the nest. Usually, one parent hunts for food, while the other one stays behind to care for their Owlets. This tree is only a few feet from the tree the nest is in. As you can see, mother is keeping a watchful eye on her young.

Kapok Park is a small, community park in Clearwater, Florida. It hasn't been open that long but it promises to be a really good park for photo opportunities. There are marshes throughout the park and beautiful, Live Oak trees, like the one the Owlet is in. There are many foot bridges along the trails that allow crossing over the marshes. I have many photos from my two trips to this park to share with my readers. I've seen some amazing things here.

Great-Horned Owlet and Dad

This post is dedicated to my very good friend, Margo, who I met through this blog. Margo is going home after an extended visit and I'll miss her until she returns.

As promised to Margo, here is the shot of the 3-week old Great-horned Owlet from Kapok Park. You'll have to click on the photo to see her cute little red tongue. She's so adorable. I thank Margo for clewing me into this place. I'd have never found her if it hadn't been for her.

This second post is a more normal (what we'd expect) photo of the same Owlet. From what I can see there's only one.

This Owlet is the cutest little thing. We watched her/him for about 2 hours peeking down at us, preening and calling for Mommy.

I've never seen a Great-horned Owl in the wild, and to find an Owlet was a most pleasant experience. It was just icing on the cake! (Sorry about the cliche)

After a couple of hours, we saw Daddy return to a nearby tree to watch his little one. I guess Mommy was out hunting. A very nice birder told us the difference between the male and female is that the female has a wide, white stripe down the center of her chest.

Margo and I went back there today and saw the mother. It's still on my camera and I'll probably be posting it soon. We also made some more shots of the Owlet. What a thrill!

This year, was the first year I've had the experience to see Eagles on the nest and Owls on the nest. Previously, I had never seen either in the wild. It just motivates me even more to get that nice new 100-400mm lens all the much sooner. I'm saving as much as I can for it and can't wait to be able to buy it so I can get better close-ups of these cute little birds.