My wife and I were excited. Once again we were to spend a month as volunteer caretakers for the Forest Service in Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. We hoped to, once again, observe a family of Great Horned Owls in their longtime nesting site, high up a rocky cliff. This would be the fifth year we had witnessed the progress of the Great Horned Owl chicks. We were filled with anticipation as we ventured up the overgrown Forest Service road to the base of the cliff. Because it was so hidden, we had to view the nest from a spot we knew from previous viewing. We scanned the familiar rock face and could barely see the chicks over the lip of the nest.
The next day we took a spotting scope so we could get a really good look at the chicks. There was something off. The chicks didn’t look right. Were the chicks not getting fed enough? Were they sick? Were they just plain ugly owlets? We went back to the cabin and looked through our bird books.
During the next several days, we could see heads and shoulders peeking over the nest. Then we heard a Red-tailed Hawk soar overhead making its hoarse, screaming kee-eeeee-arr. Oops. We realized our mistake.
A Red-tailed Hawk had commandeered the long-held Great Horned Owl nest for its own. As soon as the two little chick heads became clearly visible, we realized that our expectations of seeing Great Horned Owl chicks had colored our vision. These were Red-tailed Hawk chicks.
We never did see a hawk parent in the nest as we had seen the Great Horned Owl parent or see the chicks fledge during our stay that month. But watching the hawks develop from scrawny chicks to robust juveniles was a fine reward.
Now we set out to find the Great Horned Owl nest. After much searching, we were disappointed. We never did find the nest. But one day on a walk, a large brown bird flushed from some bushes to trees nearby. Chukars often flushed as we walked along, but this was much different. It was an adult Great Horned Owl.
Over the next two days, we found another adult. To our surprise, three young owl chicks were perched on the branches of the trees right next to our cabin. Seeing them so close was much better than way up on the cliff. Every day we watched their growth as they changed from fluffy little balls of feathers to beautiful juveniles.
We then learned another lesson in bird behavior. In past years, we had been entertained by the antics of Western Screech Owls as the adults raised their brood of chicks in a nearby tree cavity.
The owls started appearing at dusk and eventually began hunting in the orchard. The adults taught the chicks how to hunt by diving into the grass after prey. Now when we looked in the tree cavity where the nest had been the previous years, we saw five unhatched eggs.
None of them hatched. After more research, we found that Great Horned Owls prey on Western Screech Owls.
Nature has many surprises. We remain grateful to have been at a place where we could see wonders each day. The temptation to jump to conclusions about the identity of a specific bird is to be resisted. Indeed, we learned to observe many clues before trying to identify a bird.
Here is a video of the three screech owl chicks on a branch. You may find yourself relating to how your siblings have treated you when you were growing up.
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Now it is your turn. Have you had any experiences in which your expectations colored your conclusions?
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