Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus
Case 6
Great Horned Owl nestling reunited with its family in a laundry basket nest which is used by the owls for nine years
|
Nestling grounded
after storm in 1992 |
In
the spring of 1992, Jerry and Kay Culton, of Tuscaloosa, brought a young
Great Horned Owl to the Wildlife Center after a storm destroyed the nest and
grounded the nestling the night before. The juvenile was perfectly healthy,
and the Cultons knew exactly where the nest had been located in their wooded
backyard.
|
Jerry Culton places
nest in accessible tree |
Ordinarily,
I would have gone myself, or sent a trusted volunteer to supervise the
installation of a substitute nest, but it was a busy time, and I was
impressed with the deep interest and competence shown by Jerry and Kay
Culton. I constructed a well-woven nest of twigs in one of our laundry
baskets, and gave it to the Cultons with detailed instructions. The Cultons
installed the basket in a tree in their yard the same day, and Jerry placed
the owlet in the basket shortly before dark.
The Cultons were able to observe from an upstairs deck of their house the reuniting of the mother owl with her missing offspring. After the nesting season was over, the Cultons had a professional arborist move the basket to a more secure location in a taller tree in their yard. The nest continued to be used annually until it finally collapsed after the 2000 nesting year. Since then, they have replaced the basket with a new one. The basket is in use as of the 2007 nesting season.
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