Sept Presenter: James Bruce Regan - Upper Peninsula
Sept Challenge: The Color Blue
Pages
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Resident Barred Owl
We have been keeping tabs on this owl all spring and hopefully we will get a chance to see the young or find the nest. Anybody have any idea when they, Barred Owls, hatch?
"Courtship activities begin in February with breeding occurring between March and August. Males hoot and females give contact calls. As the nesting season approaches, males chase after females giving a variety of hooting and screeching calls. Males display by swaying back and forth, and raising their wings, while sidling along a branch. Courtship feeding and mutual preening also occur. Barred Owls nest in cavities and will also use abandoned Red-shouldered Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Squirrel, or Crow nests. Eggs number 2-4 and are white, and almost perfectly round, with a slightly rough texture. They are likely laid every 2 to 3 days and incubation begins with the first egg laid. Incubation period is 28-33 days. The Male brings food to the female while she is on the nest. The Barred Owl is single-brooded but has a long breeding season, which allows for laying of replacement clutches if the first clutch or brood is lost. When the young leave the nest, at about 4 weeks, they are not able to fly, but crawl out of the nest using their beak and talons to sit on branches. These Owls are called branchers. They fledge at 35 to 40 days. Once they lose their down, there is no difference between adult and juvenile plumage. Parents care for the young for at least 4 months, much longer than most other Owls. Young tend to disperse very short distances, usually less than 10 kilometres (6 miles), before settling. Pairs mate for life and territories and nest sites are maintained for many years."
We have been keeping tabs on this owl all spring and hopefully we will get a chance to see the young or find the nest. Anybody have any idea when they, Barred Owls, hatch?
"Courtship activities begin in February with breeding occurring between March and August. Males hoot and females give contact calls. As the nesting season approaches, males chase after females giving a variety of hooting and screeching calls. Males display by swaying back and forth, and raising their wings, while sidling along a branch. Courtship feeding and mutual preening also occur. Barred Owls nest in cavities and will also use abandoned Red-shouldered Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Squirrel, or Crow nests. Eggs number 2-4 and are white, and almost perfectly round, with a slightly rough texture. They are likely laid every 2 to 3 days and incubation begins with the first egg laid. Incubation period is 28-33 days. The Male brings food to the female while she is on the nest. The Barred Owl is single-brooded but has a long breeding season, which allows for laying of replacement clutches if the first clutch or brood is lost. When the young leave the nest, at about 4 weeks, they are not able to fly, but crawl out of the nest using their beak and talons to sit on branches. These Owls are called branchers. They fledge at 35 to 40 days. Once they lose their down, there is no difference between adult and juvenile plumage.
ReplyDeleteParents care for the young for at least 4 months, much longer than most other Owls. Young tend to disperse very short distances, usually less than 10 kilometres (6 miles), before settling. Pairs mate for life and territories and nest sites are maintained for many years."
http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Strix&species=varia