From DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center

While we are very aware that baby season is approaching, our patient of the week took us by surprise with their arrival. As far as we can remember, this is the earliest that we have ever received a great horned owlet. Not to mention, this is a big baby! We estimate this owlet is already a few weeks old. Great horned owls are the earliest breeding birds and are often the first species of baby that we see each spring (tree squirrels are the other). These large owls start their courtship and mating in winter and eggs hatch throughout spring. By the time the young are learning to hunt, there is an abundance of prey as the local mammals have caught up with their own breeding cycle.

Great horned owls may not be good at building nests, often reusing nests of other species that are flimsy or too small, but they are good parents. They will even accept foster owlets to raise among their own. Whenever possible, we will attempt to return healthy owlets back to their parents and even sometimes install a durable nestbox for their use. Unfortunately, this baby is not a candidate to return to their nest and will remain in care for several months before they will be ready for release. This won’t be our only great horned owlet of the year, and perhaps this premature patient will serve as an older sibling and role model to the owlets we expect to see arriving in the coming weeks.