Great Horned Owl Nest

Despite it being the most exciting time of the year to see birds, I haven't gotten out to bird the neighborhood much lately. But about a month ago Libby Griffin emailed me about a Great Horned Owl nest at Chester Forest and Stillforest. For several years Red-shouldered Hawks have nested here. (Here's my blog post showing hawk nestlings in the same nest back in 2010. To see more of my records of this nest, look through these posts.) Great Horned Owls are known to take over nests built by other birds, and that's what happened this year. It's a great nest site, very high in a cedar elm tree without many direct vantage points. It's high enough that they birds don't seem disturbed by people walking by. I got this photo last week one evening after work:

That white fluff ball just below the owls face is a nestling. Observing this nest during the coming weeks should be very fun since the nestlings will be growing rapidly and becoming more mobile.