Mother Owl Feeding Her Chick

It was a nice day today:  fair skies, cool temperatures, light wind.  Feedings usually occur early in the mornings before daybreak and late in the afternoons just before sunset.  Today's lighting was excellent as the sun was setting and with a little luck I was able to find the owlet in a nearby tree not far from the nest tree.  The chick has been really branching out lately to nearby trees so it takes a while to find it, and today I was surprised when mom showed up shortly after I found the chick.  And as mom flew in, she had what looked like a small rodent in her beak and then she shifted it to her talon after landing.  Mom landed about 25 feet away from the chick and it was interesting to see the chick's reaction to mom's presence.  First, it ignored her; then mom began hooting and the chick sidled up to her in a series of jumps and short flights.

The chick looks well fed, no apparent ill effects from falling out of the nest earlier this year.

Mom arrives with dinner: a small rodent of some kind. (Please click on photo for full size.)

Mom departed shortly after this moment; so the chick is now feeding itself, apparently.

It's almost the end of the season, so I would expect that the owlet will be gone within the next two weeks. Sightings will be fewer and fewer and photo opportunities rarer. It's gratifying that we were able to rescue this one this year, to give it a chance for survival, so it's great to see it almost fully fledged.