Great horned owl
Great horned owls are one of the most widely distributed bird species, ranging from the Arctic into southern South America. The bird shown at the top right and left is the male of a breeding pair. He was photographed on his day roost in a eucalyptus tree on the University of California, Riverside campus. His mate was on her nest nearby on a 4th floor window ledge (below, at left); I took her picture by climbing to the roof (6th floor) and very carefully crawling to the edge and pointing the camera over and down at the incubating bird. The nest is an old raven aerie the owls took over. After two unsuccessful attempts, these owls finally produced a chick during their third year (right and bottom right). The bird at upper center was roosting at Fort DeSoto Park in southeastern Florida. The adult bird and the two chicks in a Joshua tree nest were at Black Rock Campground in Joshua Tree National Park, CA, and the recently fledged chick in the spruce tree was in Riding Mountain National Park (Manitoba, Canada).
Images copyright by Mark A. Chappell
