The owl from yesterday's upload flew over to an old cottonwood tree and joined its two siblings. I found a clear shooting window and made this family portrait in perfect portrait light. I've no idea where the adults were.

GHO nestlings in my zone fledge by late April or early May, so by late June these juveniles were ready to individuate. The next time I visited, they were gone.

Must admit I was a little surprised at missing the nest in a location I know well. All winter and into the spring, whenever I checked - dependent on the access road being passable - a single GHO was present. I figured it had lost its mate. Wrong! It was a male standing watch. The female was on their nest - in February and March - incubating the eggs! It can be very cold here during those months; these are tough birds, and those that survive to adulthood are among the most fearsome predators of the northern grasslands.

Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2024 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

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Make:	NIKON CORPORATION
Model:	NIKON D850
Exposure:	0.001 sec (1/800)
Aperture:	f/8.0
ISO Speed:	800
Focal Length:	700 mm
Lens:	500.0 mm f/5.6