From The Raptor Center
The first babies of the year have arrived!
We've reached one of our most exciting annual milestones, the beginning of baby season, with several nestling and brancher birds arriving at TRC's raptor hospital in the past few weeks. Great-horned owls (GHOWs) are the earliest raptors to hatch in our area, so they kicked off this spring's influx of baby arrivals.
On March 3, a GHOW baby was found on the ground in Hudson, WI, too young to be out of the nest. Observers spotted the nest about 35 feet high in a pine tree, with the owl parents and two siblings visible.
This owlet, found on admission to be about four weeks old, only sustained minor bruising from its fall and was successfully returned to its parents and siblings on March 5, marking another milestone - first renesting of the season!
These photos tell the story of this GHOW baby's quick adventure outside the nest, from being found on the ground, a view of the owl parent, the chick's admission to TRC's raptor hospital, then banded and boxed for return to the nest, reunion with parents and siblings, and a recheck of the nest on March 20.
