Date: 04/13/2006

Number: 1

There are such wonders waiting to be seen as Spring slips back into the tawny landscape. Adding the Christmas tree to a brush pile near the catalpa grove at noon; I glanced up at the huge nest the redtail hawk uses every year. I'm not the only one recycling today! Sitting next to the nest was a huge Horned Owl! Until just recently, I didn't know that the two species actually share nests. The wind played with the feathers and head tufts as the great bird slept, her colors blending with the bare tree trunks. Beneath the tree whisps of fur and the fresh hind legs of a cotton tail were proof of owlets. This owl does not make a true nest, depositing their eggs in tree crooks or the nests of hawks. Owlets fledge & are on the wing before the hawks need the nest. Tree crooks are risky for places - as the wind can blow both eggs and hatchlings overboard! With the ability to exert 500 pounds of pressure per square inch with each foot these owls take adult rabbits and skunks. They are quick

Marne, MI

Latitude: 43.1 Longitude: -85.8

Observed by:
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