Field Projects & Research
Monitoring Great Horned Owl Nests
Education volunteer Jim Jones keeps track of nesting Great Horned Owls and other birds living on the golf course at Bethpage State Park. He invited a few VW staff and volunteers to join him as he checked on a pair of young owls. They are about a month old, and are just beginning to leave their nest.
We can tell that there is an owl nest in this tree before we even see the birds. At the base of the tree we find several owl pellets, along with what is left of a bird that the owls ate. It looks like the bones in the pellet are from a rabbit, and the bird may have been a blue jay.
The two young owls can be seen from the ground, peeking out of their nest at us. Their parents are not visible in the area, but they certainly are not far away. This is the only nest of Great Horned Owls that we are aware of in the park this season.
We take a ride in a bucket truck to get a closer look at the young owls. Jim is only monitoring the age and health of these birds, so we are keeping our distance, just checking on them and taking pictures. Jim also monitors nests of Eastern Screech Owls, Red-tailed Hawks, Eastern Bluebirds, and Baltimore Orioles in the park.
The young owls are about a month old, and they are probably just beginning to fly. In the next few weeks they will spend more time outside of the nest, walking around the tree branches. Their parents will continue to bring them food as they learn how to fly and hunt on their own. If they fall to the ground, they are typically able to climb back to their nests on their own.
