"Each day the owlets grow louder. Today,
Smallest Owlet squawks, demanding to be
fed, and the other two owlets join in.
Father Owl delivers the body of a plump
ground squirrel. Mother Owl tears off tiny
pieces and feeds the owlets one at a time.
She knows to feed her smallest owlet the
tiniest pieces."
While relating a family tale based on something that happened in a grove of trees behind Georgia Graham's house, the author also manages to offer up a bundle of information about the great horned owls who nested there.
Her story begins in winter, when snow is still on the ground and the trees are bare of leaves. A pair of owls are on the lookout for a place to rest and nest while winter turns to spring. They find an old magpie nest and choose it as the place for laying three eggs ... one each day for three days. The female stays with the eggs; the male provides the food she needs.
The owlets are born one at a time, in the order that they were laid. Each is smaller than the one that comes ahead of them. They are loud, and they are hungry. While the mother feeds them, the father flies back and forth providing all the sustenance they need. Weeks later, all are resting when a visit from crows startles them all, especially Smallest Owl.
The owlets are growing and both Father and Mother are on a constant hunt for food. One stays with the owlets while the other is off searching. While the owlets cannot yet fly, they can feed themselves when there is food to eat. When crows attack, mother and babies are terrified. Father Owl arrives to chase them away. In his fear Smallest Owlet tumbles from the nest.
Mother Owl stays with him on the ground, while Father takes care of feeding his entire family. Mother Owl is a formidable protector of her young, from a coyote and an inquisitive family of visitors. Luckily, Smallest Owlet is now capable of climbing up the tree's bark and back to the nest. From there, he and his siblings will soon learn everything they need to know. At nine weeks old, they are flying and feeding themselves.
Ms. Graham’s brilliant, realistic artwork will have all readers poring over the book's pages. Hers is a remarkable close-up look at the Great Horned Owl. In backmatter, she provides four additional pages of facts, all exceedingly fascinating.
"Great Horned Owls eat a wide variety of
prey, but their main food source is small
mammals, including skunks. They don't
mind the smell - owls have a very poor
sense of smell."
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