Breeding Owls

In the last month I have been checking a number of areas for breeding owls and have found Great Horned Owl on the nest plus I have heard several other Great Horned Owls, Western Screech Owls and Northern Pygmy Owls calling. This owl is this photo is using a nest that was occupied last year by a Red-tailed Hawk. Owls usually use nests built by other species like this.

An owl like this sitting on a nest, especially since I saw her on it a week ago, meets the criteria for "confirmed" breeding for updating Colorado's Breeding Bird Atlas which is underway. Please note that I took this pic from 300-400 feet away with my 70-300 mm Canon zoom lens with a 1.4 extender (making it about the equivalent of a 420 mm lens). Never get close to an owl or other raptor on their nest as this can cause a breeding failure. SeEtta