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begins, and again around fledging. The males advertise nest sites by singing inside or nearby tree cavities.
The delight we experience in winter when we see or hear these animals is especially strong since other birds are not actively displaying and are typically quiet.
But it also begs the question — w hy are they mating in winter? After all, it’s a time when the smaller daytime birds haven’t begun to think about nesting. And migrants will not arrive to their nesting grounds here for several months. Owls seem to be jumping the gun on the mating season. Couldn’t they court, mate and raise young in the springtime with everyone else?
We think it might be because the fledging period for most owl species is considerably longer than it is for other species. It can take up to 3 months for great-homed owlets to fledge. In contrast, the fledging period for wrens, titmice, and chickadees is a matter of mere weeks. Obviously, the longer it takes to fledge young, the earlier the mating season must start to get it all accomplished before the late summer molt.
That’s our theory, but we welcome any others you might have. Send your owl sightings (and hearings!) to us at rappnature@aol.com.
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