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

Northern Saw-whet Owls
Owlets

Counting Owlets

In the photo below, there appears to be the white brow and tiny eyes of an owlet just barely peeking up to see outside the nest. Since that first sighting on March 7, we had hoped to see an owlet. It seems we're going to get our wish.

First owlet sighting, maybe

April 25, 2025 2:36 am, Canon EOS R6mII, RF 600mm F4, 1/80 at f/4 and ISO 6400

That afternoon, we got our first daylight view of an owlet and our only opportunity to see an adult in the nest with an owlet.

Owlet looking out with parent behind

April 25, 2025 2:36 am, Canon EOS R3, RF 600mm F4, 1/640 at f/4 and ISO 400

According to the references on the Northern Saw-whet Owl on All About Birds and Wikipedia, the female leaves the nest when the owlets reach some degree of maturity (18 days or when they have developed their feathers) and leaves feeding the owlets to the male. Our last sighting of an adult owl in the nest was just after we saw the first owlet.

Last sighting of an adult owl in the nest

April 26, 2025 4:18 am, Canon EOS R6mII, RF 600mm F4, 1/80 at f/4 and ISO 6400

The owlets were quite active day and night, giving us many adorable photographs. We frequently saw multiple at once, making us wonder how many were in the nest.

Two owlets

May 1, 2025 1:44 pm, Canon EOS R3, RF 600mm F4, 1/640 at f/4 and ISO 640

Three owlets looking out from the nest

May 6, 2025 3:38 pm, Canon EOS R3, RF 600mm F4, 1/160 at f/8 and ISO 800

On May 4, Cathy noticed multiple owlets moving around in the opening and manually recorded video of the action. Carefully examining the still photos from that time, we found an image showing four owlets.

Four owlets looking out from the nest

May 4, 2025 12:23 pm, Canon EOS R3, RF 600mm F4, 1/800 at f/8 and ISO 800

When Cathy noticed the crowd of owlets, she was using an alternate camera set up from an angle that looked more straight into the opening through a second-floor window we can't open, is farther away, and is using a less telephoto lens than the main camera. Still, she was able to catch on video something the still camera didn't: five owlet heads bobbing up and down. After seeing her video, we carefully examined the stills from the main camera and found the above photo of four, but didn't get all five at once in a single image.

Below is the video showing five owlets. It's a little tricky to see as we never got a frame with all five faces showing. In the frame shown in the preview image from about 3 seconds in, you can see three faces lined up vertically from lower right to top center. Just below center on the left is another head with the white eyebrow visible. In front of that fourth head is a gray blob that is the fifth head. At the start of the video, numbers 4 and 5 are both too low to make out. Around the 3-second mark, number 4 pops up, bobs around for a while, then drops down in the back. At about 14 seconds, the blob moves up to reveal the fifth owlet in the lower left foreground. It's not very entertaining to watch, but it establishes that there are at least five owlets in the nest. We'll see if we can confirm the count when they fledge…

Five owlets bobbing

May 4, 2025, 2:30 pm, Canon EOS R6mII, RF 100-500mm

Owlet Behavior

We switched the overnight camera from taking stills to shooting video to better capture behavior. To add light and reduce shadows, we added a fourth IR panel, a 15-watt model, placed off to the left.

Here we have three owlets all trying to get a view, and perhaps some fresh air.

Three owlets crowding in for the view

May 11, 2025, Canon EOS R6mII IR, RF 600mm f/4

This owlet stepped up to the edge of the entrance, preened its wings and near the end showed off how fluffy its chest feathers are.

Owlet preening, cleaning foot, fluffing feathers

May 6, 2025, Canon EOS R6mII IR, RF 600mm f/4

Near the end of our adventure, late on May 17, Cathy heard chirping sounds coming through the owl blind window. She looked through the camera and confirmed there was an owlet in the nest chirping away. This was a first for us, so she called Tom in to check out. Tom dashed in, looked into the camera and the owlet was just standing there. He watched for a while until we decided the chirping was over and he went back to bed. We wondered if Cathy calling for Tom had startled the owlet. A little later, the chirping was back and Cathy again called Tom in, very quietly this time. Again, the owlet was just standing there. It was a total Michigan J. Owl experience. Cycle the process a third time and finally the owlet performed for Tom.

Normally, we shoot video with audio disabled, but we turned the sound on and recorded some. It was difficult to hear, partly because it was lightly raining, so Cathy ran downstairs and grabbed the parabolic microphone she has used to record birds in the past. She uncovered the opening we had used briefly for a light panel and positioned the microphone while Tom hit the record button. Make sure your audio is un-muted, maybe turn up the volume a bit, and play the video to hear the owlet chirp. It was the last one in the nest, so perhaps it was calling out for its parents and siblings.

Owlet vocalizing - be sure to un-mute the audio