Category Archives: Birds of Prey

Barred Owl Identification: Juvenile vs Adult

Compare juvenile and adult barred owl (photos from Wikimedia Commons)

13 June 2025

The barred owl fledglings in Frick Park drew a crowd this week and prompted many questions including “How do you tell the difference between the youngsters and the adult?”

This photo from Wednesday includes the mother and four fledglings but the whole group looks pretty much the same because youngsters are losing their down.

Barred owl fledglings + mother, Frick Park, 11 June 2025 (photos by Charity Kheshgi)

In both immature and adult plumage barred owls have bibs. Below the bib is where they differ.

Immature barred owls have horizontal stripes, sometimes faint, below the bib.

Young barred owl (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Adult barred owls have vertical stripes below the bib.

Adult barred owl (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

How old are the Frick Park barred owl fledglings? UPDATED 14 June Michelle Kienholz has been tracking these owls for years and noted this spring that:

  • Barred owl fledglings leave the nest at about 4 to 5 weeks old but cannot fly. On 24-25 May the Frick Park youngsters were branching and walking but definitely not flying.
  • Barred owls begin short flights at 6-10 weeks old. What we saw on 11 June were actually short flights. This would put them at about 8 weeks old.
  • Longer flights occur at about 12 weeks old. We haven’t seen any long flights yet.

Michelle estimates that the Frick fledglings were 8 weeks old last week (11 June) so they probably hatched in mid April.

p.s. It’s easy to tell the difference when the young are still downy but the Frick Park owls are way beyond this stage.

Barred owl fledgling on the ground, Mingo NWR, Missouri (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

FIVE! Barred Owl Fledglings at Frick Park

Two of the 5 barred owl fledglings at Frick Park, 11 June 2025 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

12 June 2025

When Charity Kheshgi and I visited Frick Park last weekend to see the barred owl fledglings we thought we saw three youngsters at the same time but we doubted ourselves. Barred owls (Strix varia) usually have only one or two youngsters per year. Yesterday we went back to see them again and saw FIVE youngsters, an unusually high number.

Charity arrived at the Hutchinson entrance ahead of me and saw five fledglings. By the time I arrived one had flown off but at the end of our stay the mother owl came in with prey and all five crowded round for a bite to eat. It was only a chipmunk, not a full meal for a family of five, so as soon as it was gone she left to find more.

Enjoy Charity’s photos and videos of the owl family. Eventually they attracted a crowd of humans.

Five barred owl fledglings at Frick Park + mother, 11 June 2025 (photos by Charity Kheshgi)

Barred owl fledgling, Frick Park, 11 June 2025 (video by Charity Kheshgi)
Two barred owl fledglings look at the paparazzi, Frick Park, 11 June 2025 (video by Charity Kheshgi)

The family is hanging out near the Hutchinson entrance. Your best bet for finding them is to listen for upset songbirds.

Barred Owl Fledglings Branch & Fly at Frick

Barred owl fledgling “branching” at Frick Park, 7 June 2025 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

10 June 2025

Great horned owls stole the show in Schenley Park from March into April. Now Frick’s own barred owl family has two fledglings branching and flying this month.

UPDATE as of 11 June: There are FIVE fledglings!

Barred owls (Strix varia) have lived in Frick Park for about five years and though they missed nesting last year they have two five fledglings this spring. On 7 June Charity Kheshgi and I met at the Hutchinson entrance to go find them.

The first clue for me were the sounds of upset robins and blue jays which we followed to the general area. Once there Charity and my Merlin app could hear the call of a barred owl juvenile. We waited for it to make a move.

Eventually one, then two, fledglings awkwardly flapped and branched from tree to tree.

Barred owl fledgling, Frick Park, 7 June 2025 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

The youngster with the dark face perched where we could see it between the leaves.

Barred owl fledgling (dark face), Frick Park, 7 June 2025 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

Charity captured video of the youngster calling. Can you hear it? Because of upper-range hearing loss I cannot hear any of it but I can see the bird open its beak to make the call.

Barred owl calling,7 June 2025 (video by Charity Kheshgi, 7 June 2025)

If you go looking for these owls, listen for upset songbirds to “tell” you where the birds are hanging out. You’ll have a big advantage finding them if you can hear their high-pitched calls!

p.s. On 7 June Charity and I saw three owls at once but the third was very obscured by leaves. We thought it was a 3rd fledgling but was it an adult? A short time later we saw an adult and only two fledglings. Michelle Kienholz has watched this family for months and confirms there are only two youngsters.

This Falconet is Smaller than a Cardinal

Collared falconet in Nepal (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

23 May 2025

According to Wikipedia, falconets (Microhierax) are the smallest members of the Falcon order, averaging about 15 cm (5.9 in) in length and 35 g (1.2 oz) in weight. I had no idea how cute they are until I saw this photo of collared falconets (Microhierax caerulescens) on X.

Non-migratory and native to Nepal and Southeast Asia, these tiny raptors are 14–18 cm long (5.5-7.1 inches) with a wingspan of 28–34 cm (11-13 inches), and weight 30–50 g (1 to 1.7 oz).

This is significantly smaller than a northern cardinal [[ 21–23.5 cm long (8.3–9.3 in), wingspan 25–31 cm (9.8–12.2 in), weight 33.6–65 g (1.19–2.29 oz) ]]

Northern cardinal (photo by Lauri Shaffer)

Collared falconets perch alone or in groups as shown in this restful video.

video embedded from maxipoika on YouTube

Birds of the World describes their lifestyle, paraphrased below:

Feeds mainly on large insects, especially butterflies, but also moths, dragonflies, orthopterans and beetles, as well as birds up to size of pipits, small lizards and mammals.

Hunts from exposed perch in dead tree or large open tree above forest canopy, at forest edge, or along a stream or river. Occasionally hunts in small groups of up to seven individuals (exceptionally up to 18 at pre-roost site).

Prey (especially insects) usually taken in the air and taken back to the same perch for consumption.

— paraphrased from Birds of the World: Collared Falconet

Cute like a shrike. 😉

How To Find An Owl

Brewer’s blackbird attacks American barn owl, San Luis Obispo County, CA (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

20 May 2025

What is the easiest way to find an owl? Listen for angry birds.

Songbirds always view owls as dangerous but during the nesting season they loudly mob owls to drive them away from their nests and fledglings. This attracts more birds to join the chase. What a ruckus! Here are some examples.

In this video blue jays mob a mother screech-owl who is taking a break near her nestbox in Florida. She isn’t going to leave the area so the mobbing isn’t going to work. Notice her reaction!

video embedded from MyBackyardBirding on YouTube

Her behavior is notable because:

Screech Owl uses newly documented scary daytime defensive posture against annoying Blue Jays and Mockingbirds consist of wide eyed blinking and open mouth snapping to look more intimidating.

— video description from MyBackyardBirding on YouTube

American crows bravely mob a great horned owlet, making it very easy to find this branching youngster.

video embedded from Richard Hoeg on YouTube

Crows chase an adult great horned owl when it’s near their nest or fledglings. But there is real danger in this activity! The owl will eat the crow if he can catch him. There are moments in this video when the crow takes a big chance. (Watch for the cameo appearance of a mockingbird.)

video embedded from The Real Saunders Photography on YouTube

RARE BIRDS! I could not resist starting this blog with a rare songbird chasing a rare owl. Both birds in the top photo — a Brewer’s blackbird and an American barn owl — are extremely rare in southwestern Pennsylvania. If I saw a barn owl being chased by a Brewer’s blackbird in the Pittsburgh area, no one would believe me. Both birds occur regularly in San Luis Obispo County, California where the photo was taken.

Tawny and Barred Owls Here and There

Tawny owl compared to barred owl (photos from Wikimedia Commons)

16 May 2025

Remember when we watched Schenley Park’s great horned owls from late winter into early spring? Great horned owl fledging season is long past but woodland “earless” owls have just reached fledging time in Europe and North America. Let’s take a look at the family life of two species.

Tawny owls in Europe (Strix aluco) and barred owls in North America (Strix varia) are in the same genus Strix, the “earless” owls that inhabit forests, parks and suburbs. They resemble each other in appearance and breeding behavior. Both nest in tree holes, on snags or in structures such as nest boxes.

Tawny owl in Wroclaw, Poland (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

In the U.K. tawny owls reached hatch time in early to mid-April. This video posted on 17 April by Robert E Fuller shows three eggs hatching at a tawny owl nest in Yorkshire, UK.

video embedded from Robert E Fuller on YouTube

By late April, tawny and barred owlets were half grown. Here’s an evening feeding early this month at the Wild Birds Unlimited Barred Owl nestcam in Indiana. As the video begins you can hear one of the parents hooting.

embedded video from Cornell Lab Bird Cams on YouTube

This month barred owlets in North America’s mid latitudes are “branching” before they fly. This 7-minute video shows a barred owlet doing some risky maneuvers in the trees.

embedded video from Cornell Lab Bird Cams on YouTube

Watch for behavior like this in a park or woodland near you. Keep looking up and you might see a branching owlet.

Where to Watch the Glen Hazel Bald Eagles’ Nest

Bald eagle nest at Glen Hazel, late April 2025 (photo by Dana Nesiti)

4 May 2025

Now that the Hays bald eagles have moved across the river, the old eagle viewing site on the bike trail has no eagles to see so I asked Dana Nesiti at Eagles of Hays PA on Facebook, “Where is the best place to view the Glen Hazel eagles’ nest?”

Dana recommends the Homestead side of the river at the Costco back lot (1000 Sandcastle Dr, West Homestead, PA 15120. Pin drop: 40.402230, -79.922830). He writes:

Best spot is Costco’s back lot by their loading dock [see pin drop map here]. The nest is far away and you will need binoculars or a spotting scope to see it. [While there] You get to see fly ins and outs and can see the eaglets when they are up. We spoke with Costco management and they are OK with people viewing the nest from their back lot as long as we keep it clean and don’t interfere with the truck traffic. … That is where I have been posting the pics from.

— email from Dana Nesiti, 2 May 2025

SPECIAL NOTE: If you go to Costco remember you are on private property so be sure to be unobtrusive and cooperative. Do not park at the loading dock, do not park in the access road (i.e. park far away). Do not block anything. Move if you are asked to move. You won’t want to ruin this opportunity for yourself *and* for everyone else. See information on public property viewing spot below.

To help you find the nest tree from that vantage point, Dana included a photo of the hillside with the nest tree circled in yellow and this explanation of what to look for.

If you park back there [at Costco] and walk to the corner and look across the river you will see a spot were there was a landslide. At the top of the landslide to the left is a sycamore tree that they are in (circled in attached image).

— email from Dana Nesiti, 2 May 2025
Glen Hazel hillside with bald eagle nest circled, May 2025 (photo by Dana Nesiti)

With a scope, binoculars, or a high-powered camera you can see the parents and eaglets as shown in Dana’s photo below.

Bald eagle nest at Glen Hazel, late April 2025 (photo by Dana Nesiti)

As the trees leaf out it may become harder to see the nest.

Public property viewing spot = WALK 1 MILE out on the Duck Hollow Trail: I investigated a second viewing spot on public property described by John Carson in the comment below. Today I walked it and clocked the distance = 1 mile from the Duck Hollow Parking Lot; 2 miles on your feet because you have to walk out as well.

Slight bummer: When I got to the viewing spot I could see the big nest from below but no eagles were visible; eaglets were probably sleeping. 40 minutes spent to see … sticks.

Remember: If a watcher messes up with Costco this 2 mile walk is the only choice.

Hays Eagles Moved Across the River

Hays eagles nesting at Glen Hazel, 24 April 2025 (photo by Dana Nesiti)

30 April 2025

When the Hays bald eagles did not nest in Hays Woods this spring, eagle watchers were puzzled. The Hays nest tree had fallen last year but surely the pair would build in another tree on the same hillside. The urge to nest is biologically imperative for bald eagles and it was hard to imagine the pair had completely left the area. So where were they?

About two weeks ago, hunches on their whereabouts began to pay off. By 19 April Dana Nesiti and Wendy (Eaglestreamer) had found the nest in Glen Hazel, across the river and upstream from the Hays site. Field marks on the adults proved they’re the same male and female as last year’s Hays pair and, even better, they’ve been bringing food to the nest and bowing in feeding-the-chicks mode.

How many chicks? On 20 April Dana made a video of the nest that answers that question. Look closely! Two fluffy gray chicks poke their heads above the nest rim.

video embedded from Dana Nesiti Canonusr on YouTube

Within 10 days Dana had collected a lot more footage and Bill Powers of PixCams began figuring out how and where to set up a streaming camera for the remainder of this nesting season. All the latest developments are covered in this video from CBS Pittsburgh posted on 29 April. (Note: The closeup nest footage is from prior years at Hays, not from this year in Glen Hazel.)

video embedded from CBS Pittsburgh on YouTube

It sounds like a Glen Hazel nestcam could be online by late December. Meanwhile for the latest news and views, check out Dana’s posts at Eagles of Hays PA on Facebook and his videos at Canonusr on YouTube.

Speaking of sounds, the Hays eagles have moved to a new neighborhood, but the sound “Haze” (Glen Hazel) is still in their name.

UPDATE 5 MAY 2025: Where to see the Glen Hazel bald eagle nest

Dana Nesiti gave me directions to the best viewing spot for the Glen Haze eagles’ nest. Go to Homestead Costco’s back lot.

Best spot is Costco’s back lot by their loading dock (40.402315, -79.9227297). It is far and you will need binoculars or a spotting scope to see. You get to see fly ins and outs and can see the eaglets when they are up. We spoke with Costco management and they are OK with people viewing the nest from their back lot as long as we keep it clean and don’t interfere with the truck traffic.

Here’s what you’ll see from there. As the trees leaf out you’ll have a harder time seeing them.

Glen Hazel bald eagles’ nest as seen from Costco back lot (photo by Dana Nesiti)

Look for the landslide on the right, then scope up and left for the nest.

Seen Last Week in Colorado

27 April 2025

Last week I missed an influx of migrating warblers that arrived in Pittsburgh but I saw a lot of birds and scenery in Colorado including 14 Life Birds.

Flowers: Colorado is very dry so most of the flowers we saw were small. The flower with the most pizzazz was the bright red Northern Indian paintbrush, above.

Our group totaled 17 people in two vans. The first van was a birding group from Switzerland, all of them photographers. Many birds were new to them so they took a lot of photos. Here we’re observing evening grosbeaks.

Observing evening grosbeaks, 23 April 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

We saw an old favorite from Pennsylvania, a nesting great horned owl with two chicks near the Utah border. (This is my own digiscoped photo. I am awaiting shared bird photos from the group.)

Great horned owl with two chicks, Mesa County, CO, 22 April 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

Best sound was the low droning of the greater prairie chickens in Wray, Colorado. The recording below this Wikipedia photo was captured by our guide, Sue Riffe, where we observed them.

Greater prairie chicken booming and bowing at the lek (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

And of course there was spectacular scenery: Here are the captions and commentary for the slides below.

  • View of eastern Colorado from the air: Small distinct clouds make shadows on the dry landscape.
  • Scene near Fountain, Colorado: Dry land with a building and barbed wire fence. Lots of barbed wire in Colorado.
  • Perfectly formed isolated “lump” hills near Fountain, Colorado
  • Mesa with sandy erosion deposits that make it look as if the mesa was built by bulldozers and dump trucks.
  • Promontory at Coal Canyon Trailhead. A piece at the top is ready to fall. Watch out below!
  • Utah-Colorado border road. Utah is ungrazed on the left. Colorado is grazed by cattle on the right. At this site Utah has a lot more birds.
  • Meandering Arkansas River at Arapaho NWR.
  • Our group walks the prairie at Pawnee National Grasslands.
  • Sunrise at the greater sage grouse lek near Coalmont, Colorado.

It was a good trip and now I’m glad to be home. Onward to warblers!

Birds Showing Off

Peregrine flying upside down, Ohio 2021 (photo by Chad+Chris Saladin)

4 April 2025

For many raptors courtship season has given way to incubation but this recent video of a western marsh harrier in England reminds me that fancy flying is an important part of choosing a mate. Here are four species going all out in the air.

Western marsh harrier (Circus aeruginosus) (*)

Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) Video description: The dizzying “sky-dancing” of a Golden Eagle is a territorial and courtship display. They dive from great heights and can reach nearly 200 miles per hour.

video embedded from Cornell Lab of Ornithology on YouTube

Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

video embedded from WildhoodBook on YouTube

Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) Peregrines often fly upside down when they’re courting, as shown in the top photo by Chad+Chris Saladin and the one below.

Peregrines SW and Boomer in courtship flight, Cleveland, 2013 (photo by Chad+Chris Saladin)
video embedded from Sukhjot Singh on YouTube

(*) The western marsh harrier of Europe and Africa is in the same genus as our northern harrier (Circus hudsonius)