In need of some fresh air and exercise at the end of the work day, I biked along the river for a short distance before heading downtown to pick up the kids at daycare. A well known Great Horned Owl nest location east of downtown Calgary (no more details here for obvious reasons!) turned up one juvenile and an adult. I didn't have a still camera but was able to capture some video which I've included below, along with one picture taken with the video camera. Definitely a nice midweek treat - the second Great Horned nest I've seen in less than a week and a new NMT bird for me.
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| Great Horned Owl, Bubo virginianus |
For those of you (I hope all of you!) who share my concerns about disturbing nesting birds I should point out that all of this video was shot while standing on a high use bike path and within 100 yards of a major highway. The adaptability of birds to urban environments can be pretty remarkable!
(click through on the video for larger image)
Great video! I'm surprised to see the juvenile out of the nest already. There are two pairs nesting in Fish Creek Park and I'm not sure if the young have even hatched yet. I don't expect them to be out of the nest until the end of April.
ReplyDeleteHi David,Nice video! Yes some birds,and some other animals too, amaze us with their ability to survive in urban areas. I've seen Egrets,Herons,and Cormorants nesting by the highways and Toque Macaque monkeys living in city areas raiding garbage bins. I've seen Mooses and Raccoons doing the same thing on Discovery channel. :)
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