Great Gray Owl nest Aitkin Co 640×360 from Sparky Stensaas on Vimeo.
Have you ever seen a great gray owlet?
Most of us haven’t because the bird nests in bogs in the remote north woods.
Last summer photonaturalist Sparky Stensaas jumped at the chance to film a family of great gray owls at their nest in Aitkin County, Minnesota.
His video captured the owlets when they were just ready to leave the nest. They’re fluffy and almost cute — except they have to grow up to match their beaks.
I’m impressed at how wise and old Mother Owl looks as she watches nearby. I am also very impressed by the constant noise and vision of bugs flying close to the camera. Were there mosquitoes in the bog? Need I ask?
Play the imbedded video above or click here to watch the full screen video on Vimeo.
These babies are growing up great.
(video by Sparky Stensaas, thephotonaturalist.com)
p.s. A quiz for those who can bird by ear! Can you identify the bird songs in the background?
That was fantastic….so beautiful!!!
What a great video to watch! As for the birds in the background, I could clearly hear Hermit Thrush, Blue Headed Vireo and I think a Nashville Warbler. And not sure but I kept hearing a high pitch sound that reminded me of a Brown Creeper also.