Great Horned Owls Saga And Female's Death Due to SGARs

 Ive been following a local pair of great horned owls in Framingham with a few other photographers who live in the area. They were one of the main things that inspired me to get into wildlife photography. Here is the story so far of the years that I have been with this amazing pair of owls...

2020

One October night, I was biking in the woods near my house with friends, and a low hoot started to sound off, over and over. FNB: First Encounter With GHO This was one of my first times ever hearing any owl's hoot, so naturally, I was intrigued, and followed the sound. After less than a minute of running through the woods, I saw the silhouette of the male owl, arching its back to hoot, over and over. It took off, and I started visiting the forest over and over again with my phone, trying to get an identifiable shot. I remember being really proud of this shit quality photo. I never looked for a nest that winter, or even considered that they were nesting in that forest.

2021

The next year, I was in that same forest, when my interest in trail cameras was beginning. My goal was to capture shots of coyotes. It was mid-December, and I mounted the trail camera onto a tree, facing a piece of olive oil-soaked chicken. FNB: Wildlife Of The Pine Grove 2021. I wandered off into thicker woods right after, to search for better spots to place my camera, and spotted one of the owls perched low in a tree. What I thought was a bundle of sticks, was actually the owl's mate. Both owls stared down at me from only 30ish feet up, unphased by my presence, and I finally took a low-quality, but very easily identifiable shot of the pair, before they flushed... 

2022

In March, I had witnessed one of the owls getting ferociously mobbed by a flock of crows, which I took footage of Great Horned Owl Mobbed By Crows, and then in May, Another photographer (Etienne) found the pair's chicks, newly fledged and covered with down feathers. We had unforunately missed the whole nesting stage. By this point, I had started using my dad's entry level Canon Rebel T3 with a 400mm lens to start wildlife photography. A Great Horned Owl Family I made a few visits per week, and followed the chick's progress until, eventually, in July, they left the woods, and shed their down feathers. This has been my favorite year so far, because I was able to view and record the entire process of the helpless, newly fledged chicks, turning into well-experienced, cautious adult owls.

2023

Me and Etienne were more prepared this year, and started our search for the nest super early in the year, when great horned owls are known to begin incubating eggs. Both of us made daily trips to scout for a nest, until he beat me, and found the nest first, on March 1st. It was in a very exposed spot, not sheltered by the forest canopy. We started photographing it immediately, and watched it nightly, as the male would try coaxing the female off the nest by hooting nonstop. Great Horned Owls Begin Nesting - Failed (2023) We had high hopes, and a couple other birders and photographers got involved. Very sadly, by the end of march, the nest failed, for unknown reasons. A fluffy, dying chick was found by Harold Wilion at the base of the nesting tree. This could have been a result of the storm that happened the day before.

2024                                                                                                                                                                      

This year, we also started searching for a nest very early. We were confused about where they were considering for a nesting spot. The hooting seemed to come from all over the forest, and not pinpointed at one area. The pair were both super vocal that winter. The male would hoot nonstop, as the sun went down, with the female occasionally responding with a high pitched, much louder hoot. I was the one to find the nest this year, On February 17th. It was in an obvious spot, almost exactly in the center of the forest. I found it because there was a tree with lots of owl breast feathers underneath, which was very typical of an incubating mother owl, as they shed their feathers un their underside, to help conduct heat into the eggs, which are very vulnerable to cold temperatures in February. Just like last year, only the mothers swiveling, big eared head, and tail feathers were visible above the bundle of sticks.

The male was perched across the path from his mate, in the canopy of another pine tree. He was very alert, watching me constantly as I wandered around on the ground. During nesting, It is the male's role to watch over the nest, and attack any intruders, while the female incubates.

Over the course of the next few days, I came back a few times, to find the female brooding, and the male in the same exact tree as before, watching over everything. At night, he started to fly around, similarly to last year, hooting. I now think that this is just to scare away birds that could be a threat to the nest, specifically, other owls.

This years seems to be a bad one for photographing the adults, at least for now. The male spends the day in harsh light, always roosting in the same spot high in the canopy, and then seems to make an effort to get rid of me once the sun goes down, unlike last year. The female is very difficult to see when close to the nest. I can get a photo of most of her body, but only when I stand about 200 feet away, only offering low-quality images. This is the incubating female, taken from maybe 50 feet.

As April begun, I noticed that the mom looked like she was standing up, rather than lying flat against the ground. A sign that there were large owlets underneath her. She looked uncomfortable, having to incubate so many large bodies. At this time, I also noticed that the branch in front of the nest had been covered with white feces. Owls have been known to defecate right before they fly, so this makes sense. 

On April 4th, there was a storm. A mixture of cold rain and hail showered onto the female all day long. She looks very uncomfortable in this shot...

On April 7th, I finally caught a glimpse of the owlets. When I arrived, both owlets were exposed. One owl was hooting nearby, from an unseen location. The owlets were still white, vulnerable and fuzzy. A small band of black capped chickadees, and white breasted nuthatches harassed the babies, constantly calling for reinforcements.

At one point, one owl teetered over the edge, almost fledging by accident, but it regained its balance. I could not wait for the chicks to fledge. The place was beginning to become a photography spot. Photographers Etienne, Halee, Harold, Sharon, Morine, Gill and Ryan already knew about the nest. To keep it from getting out of control, we decided to keep it quiet, and only shared the location with trustworthy people. Other owl nests, like the screech owls in Newbury, and the great horned owls at fresh pond last year, had been swarmed by photographers, making them less interesting locations, and disturbing the families.

By the 16th, The chicks were closing in on their first flights. They were beginning to shed their down feathers, and turn brown. Their flight feathers were still coming in...

Yesterday, the mother of the great horned owl family near my house, that I have been following for the last 4 years, dropped off her perch, dead. Within about an hour, climbers arrived to check on the chicks, and collect the mother's body for a necropsy. When her beak was opened, the tongue was pale-colored. This is a sign that the killer was second hand rodenticide poisoning...

SGARs, (second generation anticoagulant rodenticide) are a type of poison used to control rats. They kill rats by causing internal bleeding, but most poisoned individuals will live for a few hours or even days before death. When these poisoned rats are eaten by predators, it usually leads to the death of the owl, hawk, eagle, fox, etc.

When the climbers reached the nest, they found one dead chick, one dead rat, and a living chick, who had been vomiting liquid. (shown in video on second slide). The chick was taken to a rehabilitator, but passed away that night. The male great horned owl lost his entire family over the span of a few hours.

Please do not use rat poison containing SGARs.