Cave Hill Owl Nest

 Owls are nocturnal, right? They are active at night, and I am more likely to hear them than see them at any time. (Except for Short-eared owls and maybe Burrowing Owls, of course). I spent 10 years working at Raptor Rehabilitation Of KY, and most of my owl photos are of our education birds, rather than birds living in the wild. 

Now I have a new birder friend that we call the "Owl Whisperer." I swear, I think this man knows where every owl nest in Jefferson County is! Well, that may be a slight exaggeration, but not much. And he is a fantastic bird photographer. Birding ethics makes me reluctant to ask him where these owl nests are. After all, they have a right to privacy. He works at Cave Hill Cemetery, which seems much more than a graveyard in this community, and he is familiar with all the birds and other animals (such as foxes) who live there. He shared the location of this Great Horned Owl nest at the cemetery, and I hoped I would be able to find it. Until all the other birders showed up too!

It looks like she has taken over an old hawk's nest. With no leaves on the tree yet, the lighting is great for photos. She has 2 chicks, although I only think I saw one, and the male was off sleeping somewhere. We will have to go back in a few weeks to look for "branching" owlets, who are walking on the branches of the tree, and flapping their wings.