Overview • Early Days • Nights • Infrared • Owlets • Feeding • Fledging • How-to

Northern Saw-whet Owls
Sammamish, WA
March-May, 2025

Starting on March 7, 2025, we were treated to a pair of Northern Saw-whet Owls taking up residence in a 20-foot snag at the edge of the woods behind our house. Over a period of 11 weeks, we had the amazing opportunity to observe these tiny but fierce owls nesting, the young owlets getting their first look at the world, and an adult delivering mice to the nest each night. This culminated in recording multiple owlets fledging over a period of 2 weeks.

For scale, the opening to the nest is about three inches in diameter.

Throughout these pages, click on a photo to see a larger version.

Owl looking out from the nest

March 22, 2025 3:16 pm, Canon EOS R1, RF 100-500mm, 1/125 at f/7.1 and ISO 400

Owl with eyes closed

April 12, 2025 6:51:00 pm, Canon EOS R3, RF600mm F4, 1/800 at f/4 and ISO 5000

Owl outside the nest

April 24, 2025 11:45 am, iPhone 16 Pro

Pair of owlets

May 5, 2025 3:54:20 pm, Canon EOS R3, RF600mm F4, 1/800 at f/4 and ISO 4000

Owlet trio

May 5, 2025 1:24:11 pm, Canon EOS R3, RF600mm F4, 1/800 at f/4 and ISO 1600

Full body showing juvenile coloring and talons

May 2, 2025 5:42 pm, Canon EOS R3, RF600mm F4, 1/800 at f/4 and ISO 800

First owlet taking flight to leave the nest

May 5, 2025 9:02:34 pm, Canon EOS R6mII IR, RF600mm F4, 1/25 at f/4 and ISO 6400

For more commentary, photos, and video, follow along on our journey learning about these owls and how to photograph them, especially at night using a camera modified for infrared photography.

First Photos: Early Days

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