THE GREAT HORNED OWL 



II 



NESTING OF THE GREAT HORNED OWL 



BY CARL FRITZ HENMNG 



The Great Horned owl, the largest 

 of the resident raptores that breed 

 within the borders of Boone County, 

 chooses the "Ledges" and vicinity as 

 their favorite resting place. Here the 

 "inorganic and organic worlds have 

 conspired to make this one of the most 

 picturesque spots in the region." 

 Among the crevices of the ledge, sand- 

 stone, which in places on the Des 

 Moines River, and at the mouth of 

 Peese creek, is a hundred feet, and up- 

 wards, in thickness, this powerful and 

 destructive owl rears its young. 



Often an old hollow tree is used, but 

 more frequently the last year's nest of 

 the Red-tailed hawk. It was in an old 

 nest of this species that I secured two 

 pretty eggs of the Great Horned Owl, 

 on the 2d of February in 1899. 



Ordinarily, Nature is still resting 

 and recuperating in the long sleep be- 

 gun in December, but this year there 

 were encouraging "signs of spring " 



"The bare liills glisten in the ascending sun, 



Whose rays compel the moon to hide 



In clefts and crevices, his power to shun." 



January, — usually a month of ex- 

 tremely cold weather in Iowa, — was, 

 by the loth, quite the opposite. Bands 

 of Cedar Waxwings were traveling 

 about in great flocks, feeding on juni- 

 pers whorth berries, and leading a ro- 

 mantic life. 



Between the iith and 21st the 

 weather was extremely mild. At my 

 home the honey bees came out for an 

 airing; in my garden, the hedges, 

 orchard and vineyard were alive with 

 tree sparrows; these are the friendly 



little fellows, with their bright chestnut 

 crown, that hop to your very door for 

 crumbs, throughout the mild weather. 

 Take good care of the little visitors; 

 they have traveled a long distance to 

 make the dreary winter cheerful for 

 you with their sweet twitterings, and 

 will not tarry with you much longer. 



By the time spring is really here, the 

 little feathered friends have again left 

 us, and are on their way to their nest- 

 ing ground in the Hudson Bay region. 

 By the 22d, flocks of geese, "white 

 winged prophets of the coming spring" 

 were going northward; and the little 

 red-poll linnets, -pretty crimson-tinged 

 birds, — were feeding on maple buds. 

 A more favorable season for early nest- 

 ing could not have been chosen by the 

 Great Horned Owl. 



Enjoying nature in her every mood, 

 I could not, — under the circumstances, 

 — resist the temptation to spend the 

 day in the woods, and arrived at the 

 Ledges, in company with two friends, 

 about 10 o'clock in the morning. 



It is only the second of February, 

 but just like spring. The little stream 

 of water steadily rolling by us and 

 passing through the Ledges on its way 

 to Des Moines River, is Peese Creek. 

 The scenery along its banks is beauti- 

 ful, — the huge rocks and bluffs of 

 sandstone inspire one with awe and 

 wonder. 



Following a branch stream, the sur- 

 roundings become wild and romantic. 

 Nature has taken huge rocks and 

 boulders and scattered them in the 



