A mama Great Horned Owl feeding her baby...

This afternoon Rick and I headed over to Lake Isabella to check in on the nesting owls. I was hoping to get a glimpse of the baby who has already started popping its head out of the nest. When we arrived, the park attendant told us another egg had hatched and there were now two owlets being tended to by the parents! We walked over to the viewing area to see if the baby was awake. Soon the mama picked something up in the nest and turned toward us. It looked like dinner was about to be served...

A female Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) owl lifted a half-eaten bird out of the nest for her owlet...

...within seconds the baby popped up, ready for dinner! Look at that little one's mouth open up wide.

Only one of the two owlets popped up for dinner. If the other was eating, it was not visible from our angle.

...maybe the mama was feeding the other owlet here.

...sated, the baby soon closed its eyes and slipped back down in the nest to sleep.

...but before nodding off, the owlet stretched its little wings, giving us a glimpse of the feathers just beginning to emerge from the cylindrical feather sheaths.

Owls do not build their own nests. Instead, they take over nests built by hawks, herons, crows, or even squirrels. They also will nest in hollowed-out tree cavities that are large enough, and will even take advantage of man-made platforms and other types of nests, such as this old metal tub. This tub has been at Lake Isabella for a long time and has hosted many owl families over the years!

(It was nice having Rick along with me. If he's not careful, he might lose his old blog name of Rick the Reluctant Birder!)