Well That Only Took 1 Year

Birding out in the Pinelands of NJ I have come across owls fairly regularly. They love these dense pitch pine forests and the plentiful mammals that feast on the seeds. But actually spotting them is very, very difficult. For the past year I have been using the tried and true method of collecting pellets, finding the white wash and then reverse triangulating to find the roost. In this way I have found a few screech, snowys, saw-whets, barn owls, short eared owls, long eared owls and one great horned owl. Due to the presence of bald eagles in my area, all of these birds are very shy and very well concealed. Never using the same roost for more than a week at a time, it has become a real challenge to find a nest. This week after the snow melt, after months and months of searching, it finally happened. At fly out the past few nights there have been great vocalizations and a nest exchange with a possible feeding. There are no lights were I am so night photography is virtually impossible...at least as long as the moon is a waning crescent. Hopefully the chicks will continue to grow and it wont be too long before I can get some daytime shots of them. Good luck hooters!