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It was a very sad weekend in our area this weekend. It's with a heavy heart that I share these last images of our local Great Horned Owlets that many of us have enjoyed watching and photographing over the past several weeks.
I played hooky from work Friday and went down to our local nature preserve swamp to try to capture a few shots of these owlet twins. They have been growing fast and I knew time was short to be able to see and enjoy them before they fledged the nest in a few more weeks. I got my very first glimpse of one of the newly hatched babies just a few weeks ago, so the anticipation was growing to witness these beautiful creatures grow up and fledge the nest.
Mom had claimed this Blue Heron nest as her own back at the end of January or beginning of Feb. It was located out in the swamp but was reasonably close (about 50 yards) to walking trails and a viewing platform, where all of us local photogs enjoy hanging out.
Tragically this Saturday around 4pm, high winds snapped the top of the tree off and the nest came crashing down into the swamp. There were witnesses there who promptly reached out for help and within 45 minutes or so, rescuers arrived and managed to recover one of the Owlets. The other sibling did not survive. I'm still not clear as to the health of the surviving owlet but I believe it might have a broken wing based on some video footage I saw after it was rescued and mention of a splint, but it is expected to make a full recovery.
No one had ever seen the Dad as he only shows up at night to help feed his kids. Witnesses reported both mom and dad circling above while all of this was unfolding. 
Ironically, right around the same time this tragedy occurred Saturday as I was listening to the wind ripping and blowing while I was at home, I started thinking about the owlets and what would happen if this exact scenario happened.
As heart wrenching and sad as this story is, I have mixed feelings about whether or not humans should have intervened. In this particular case and situation I think it was the best call because the surviving owlet did appear to have a broken wing. I have been told that this same thing happened back in 2014 in a nearby forested area of this nature preserve and the owlets survived and were fed and taken care of on the ground by the parents until they could fly.
Nature is nature, but it can certainly be cruel.
Sorry for the book.
The last images of the 2022 Baby GH Owlets 2
The last images of the 2022 Baby GH Owlets 3
The last images of the 2022 Baby GH Owlets
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