An interesting twist to the Paxton's Bush Great Horned Owls

The pair of Great Horned Owls in Paxton's Bush, on the northern edge of the city of Chatham, has had quite a following over the years. Nesting season in particular has had people far and wide out to view them. For example back in 2013, they nested low down in a cavity created by a broken branch of a Black Cherry tree, and people came from as far away as Toronto to photograph them. Here is a photo I took at the time.

They only used that nest for one season. I guess it was too accessible for the large number of people coming to admire them, so the adults moved to a more remote part of the woodlot and in a higher tree stub. Then a couple of years ago, they moved again, closer to the south side of the woodlot. This is a photo of last year's owlets peeking over the top of the nesting stub.

 They were at it again in the same place this year, but not really all that visible yet. This next photo is one I took a few days ago, and the only way to determine that it was occupied by the owls was by looking carefully at this little slash opening near the top of the stub. You can see a few barred feathers of the adult either incubating or tending the young.

I remember commenting to Marie on our visit there last week that the tree stub looked very fragile, and wondered how much longer it would be useful.

We got the answer on Sunday. It was very windy with wind speeds reported at one point as 60 km/hr with gusts in excess of 80 km/hr, and the tree stub came crashing down. This next photo is what it looked like today.

A closer look showed some of the nest contents. The first photo shows some feathers of an American Crow which had become a meal. Interestingly, but not surprisingly, the nest in the cherry tree above had a few crow feathers clinging to the edge of the broken branch cavity. There is no shortage of crows to feast on!

 Right close by was this little rodent, which quite possibly had been delivered to the young owlets before the nest tree came crashing down. The meal went untouched, at least by the owlets. Presumably it will be feasted on by various invertebrates over the next few weeks including maggots (the larvae of flies) and beetles.

Although the destruction of this nest could have had a tragic ending, the quick action of some neighbours has increased the success of the nest considerably. With the help of staff from the Bluewater Centre for Raptor Rehabilitation in Lambton County and others, the youngsters which were approximately two weeks old, were checked over for any injuries, then kept warm until a new nest could be installed later that day.  This next photo shows the new nest, a little higher up and in a nearby tree, a Silver Maple, that is far better condition. The laundry basket is partially filled with pine needles and anchored by two by fours so that it looks fairly sturdy. Apparently while this was going on, the adults were in a nearby tree keeping watch, but never made any attempt at protecting the young or harassing the humans. And shortly after the installation was complete and the owlets deposited in the nest, the female came back. I took this photo today, and it is a lot easier to see the adult on the nest than the previous nest stub which was far too deep. It will be quite entertaining, hopefully, as the owlets grow and become much more visible before they fledge, so stay tuned for more photos as this unfolds.

 And of course the other member of the pair is typically perched fairly high up in a nearby tree, ensuring that the local American Crows and Cooper's Hawks don't become too much of a menace.

A bit more background on this story can be found on this link to The Chatham Voice.