I found the female of the pair in the North Woods in a cavity even worse than her previous spot.  A hollow tree stump that is 4 feet tall.  She was sitting out in the open when I arrived.  I hope she finds a better spot soon.

After fly out she went down to a small branch near the stream that exits from the Pool between Glen Span Arch and a rustic bridge.  We heard the male but didn’t see him.  She stayed in the area for about fifteen minutes before giving us the slip.

A Great Horned Owl has returned to Central Park.  I found it around 6:30 p.m. and was able to keep track of it for over an hour.  It flew to various trees along the Lake from the Indian Caves to the Oven.   The owl seemed to go wherever there were groups of quacking ducks.

The Great Horned Owl was harassed during the day by owl watchers when it was last here, so these photos will remain hidden form the public until the owl leaves the park.

Tonight, we couldn’t find either owl until after fly out.  Both owls seemed to arrive from the tops of trees over Glen Span Arch.  This is going to be tough to figure out.

It was the coldest night of the fall so far.  Freezing and very windy.

Surprisingly, the female was sitting at the edge of her cavity as though it was warm out. When a raccoon went by, she was highly suspect perking up her ears and turned her head all around to keep track of the intruder.

At fly out she hopped around on a few close by tree branches before flying southeast.  I soon found her with her mate. Despite the cold temperatures, neither owl was frigid tonight! She called, he responded and they copulated.

She then went to the ground and although I can’t be entirely sure, I think she returned with a mouse.

They fly out tonight reminded me so much of last year it was like a time warp.  Same stump, same owl, same fly out pattern.  And hundreds of runners going right past her…

With the cold weather and bare tree limbs, we’ve been looking for possible roost cavities for the North Woods Screech-owl pair.  Tonight we found the female in a familiar cavity.  She’s back in the same cavity she lost to a raccoon earlier this year.  Her mate was heard but not seen after fly out.