#great horned owl
Great horned owl at ICBP
This is Basket Owl (a baby great horned owl). Its mother, who is perhaps a first time mother, selected an old, very small (for an owl) crow nest at the top of a tree. Not surprising to the people watching her constantly pulling her baby back under herself as it bulged over the edges of the nest, the baby fell out when very young. Thankfully, some kind humans noticed and instead of absconding with the baby, they grabbed a new nest (a deep basket) and secured it part way up the nest tree, then placed the baby in the basket. Thankfully, mom realized this was a much better nest and resumed sitting on her baby in their new home. This is Basket Owl yesterday, several weeks after its rescue, doing well and in the “brancher” phase (i.e. not quite fledging, but moving around in the tree a bit). It’s such a cute puff and a testament to people trying to keep the baby with its parents instead of just kidnapping it with good intentions.
Please, if you encounter baby birds this season, do your best to place them back in the nest or up in a bush or tree, off the ground. Don’t immediately take the baby and accidentally kidnap it. If the nest seems to have broken, find a cardboard box or a small basket, place the baby inside, and secure it up in the nest tree, off the ground (the parents are very likely going to find it). If you feel the bird may be legitimately injured, call a bird expert or rehabber BEFORE taking the baby away from its parents.
Enjoy watching all the cute baby birds this season!
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This is Basket Owl (a baby great horned owl). Its mother, who is perhaps a first time mother, selected an old, very small (for an owl) crow nest at the top of a tree. Not surprising to the people watching her constantly pulling her baby back under herself as it bulged over the edges of the nest, the baby fell out when very young. Thankfully, some kind humans noticed and instead of absconding with the baby, they grabbed a new nest (a deep basket) and secured it part way up the nest tree, then placed the baby in the basket. Thankfully, mom realized this was a much better nest and resumed sitting on her baby in their new home. This is Basket Owl yesterday, several weeks after its rescue, doing well and in the “brancher” phase (i.e. not quite fledging, but moving around in the tree a bit). It’s such a cute puff and a testament to people trying to keep the baby with its parents instead of just kidnapping it with good intentions.
Please, if you encounter baby birds this season, do your best to place them back in the nest or up in a bush or tree, off the ground. Don’t immediately take the baby and accidentally kidnap it. If the nest seems to have broken, find a cardboard box or a small basket, place the baby inside, and secure it up in the nest tree, off the ground (the parents are very likely going to find it). If you feel the bird may be legitimately injured, call a bird expert or rehabber BEFORE taking the baby away from its parents.
Enjoy watching all the cute baby birds this season!
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It’s been ages since I’ve been on but I wanna update!
My husband and I started a birds of prey business and it’s going well! Bought a new property with huge acreage! Will be moving there this summer c:
Our eagles are on eggs! Two!!! They should be hopefully hatching start of May. This way we can a brand new eagle to train for our educational demonstrations.
And the best part? We got a new baby for our menagerie! His name is Gaebora c:
I hope everyone is doing well and ok
❤️ Tats
Great Horned Owl
Photo: LDeans
This is Solo. She is another animal ambassador at CuriOdyssey. Solo’s right wing has been severely damaged, so she is unable to fly. She lives comfortably among the other raptors, behind the scenes at CuriOdyssey.
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An owl version of Iolar, the Guardian Spirit of Birds of Prey.
Iolar belongs to the ever awesome @Almonihah
Art by me.
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2013/07/14
There’s something that not many people know about me. It’s a dark and difficult secret, but you are my loyal (I hope) followers, and for your sake, the truth must come out.
I am a falconer. Or, I’m working on becoming one. I make my living in the summer hanging out with and helping to care for birds of prey. I’m sorry to have to break it to you that my job is so awesome.
Lucy, one of my “co-workers”.
One of the most common questions I get asked is “how did someone like you / someone so young get into this sort of thing?” and I always begin by explaining that I am an absolute freak for animals. I can watch a rabbit eat grass and do boring rabbit crap for three hours and it will be the greatest event of my week.
The first thing you must have before you even think about approaching falconry is an unshakable love and respect for every animal’s boundaries and idiosyncrasies. My mother, who remains to be the only other person I have met who gets the same joy out of simply observing animals, taught me how to honor and connect with animals an early age. Don’t approach a strange dog too quickly. Never get between a mother bear and her cubs. When approaching any animal, keep your stance low and your voice soft. Wait for them to come to you. In this era of captive-bred everything, habitat loss and nature deficit disorder, I feel really fortunate to have had those teachings passed on to me.
Nobody may sit higher than the Queen.
As for how I got into falconry itself, I was given the opportunity by Kim and Karen Kamstra, experienced falconers, educators, and owners of Raptors Ridge Birds of Prey.
The summer before I entered Grade 12, they made a deal with the Capilano Suspension Bridge to come every day from Father’s Day to Labour Day and give people a chance to see raptors up close.
Karen and Sedona, a juvenile female Harris Hawk.
Naturally, I spent a lot of time finding ways to shirk my responsibilities as a nature guide and hang out with Kim and Karen and whichever birds they had with them that day. The next summer, as I leaned against the fence in my dorky uniform, Karen turned to me and said “Want a bird?”, indicating the tiny Kestrel perched atop her gloved hand. It’s impossible to forget how I felt right at that moment, feeling my heartbeat whooshing at the back of my mouth as I slipped the glove on and felt Little Dude’s willow-thin toes wrap around my index finger. I was afraid to move. Even though he was so tiny, the confidence in his grip and his beetle-black gaze held me in total rapture. Woman became perch.
Turns out I was good at it; In subsequent summers my duties went from simply sitting with the birds while Kim or Karen took a much-deserved coffee break to helping with difficult duties such as coping (trimming and shaping of beaks) or replacing equipment and eventually to assisting at events and holding down the fort when emergencies arose.
Conversing with Rusty, our wild rescue Red-Tailed Hawk.
In each installment of Sweaty Gauntlet, I will be covering the day-to-day joy and chaos of working in falconry, telling stories, and sharing info on how we can give these beautiful animals the help that they need so we can continue to be awed by them.
Sketch of the lovely Great Horned Owl that I spotted and photographed at Skidaway Island State Park this morning.
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Some of my original work of original characters. Not a commission, however I would love to do more weird ass drawings like this. I should probably water mark this, but I’m too lazy. So whatever. Take what you will from me interwebs! I’ll just create more.
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Geometric owl commission for a fellow artist and a very good friend! Thank you Jason for giving me the creative freedom to do this piece! All hand drawn with prisma color pencils and markers. I am both a fan of traditional and digital work, however I truly love giving the original traditional piece to it’s rightful owner. Thank you again Jason
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Great Horned Owl chromolithograph by Louis Agassiz Fuertes from The United States Department of Agriculture Yearbook, 1908
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great horned owl
©cpleblow (2022)
Missoula, Montana
