Nature News

By: Carol Suits
Liberty Wildlife Volunteer

Kid Stuff philosophy: The screen is the launch pad. The real activity happens outside – where kids can observe, wonder, create, solve problems, and become helpers for nature.

By: Gail Cochrane
Liberty Wildlife Volunteer

In December you find many humans stringing glittering lights, drawing up gift lists and attending holiday parties. In the parallel universe of nature, a few species of wild birds are already making equally fevered preparations for mating season. These desert species find it advantageous to breed in the winter months, and experts see the season getting earlier every year.

Great horned owls are among the most conspicuous early nesters, hooting repeatedly at dusk and dawn, advertising their territories and wooing mates. It’s a bit of a misnomer to call this impressive predator a nester though, as great horned owls generally don’t build nests. Instead, they make use of nests built by other species, often red-tailed hawks. The hawks will be nesting soon though, so it’s a good plan for GHOs to move in early.

In urban and suburban areas of the Valley of the Sun, palm trees and man-made structures often provide what seem to be ideal nesting ledges. But these nest sites may lead to trouble when the fledglings begin “branching”. Great horned owl fledglings get adventuresome and start pushing and shoving a bit in the nest as they grow, often ending up on the ground. The parents continue to feed and guard them during this awkward stage, but if there is a busy street or other hazardous situation nearby, a baby owl may require rescue.

Great horned owls mate for life and hold the same territory year after year if possible. Courtship begins in late November or December, with the two owls bowing to each other and hooting duets. The male brings tasty morsels to the female in attempts to further impress. Sometime between January and March the eggs are laid and the female settles in to incubate while her mate takes over hunting duties.

Another December nester from the opposite end of the size spectrum is Anna’s hummingbird. This tiny bird engages in dynamic courtship displays, with the male hovering, giving a buzzy song, then shooting high in the sky before diving back toward the female. He may also zoom back in forth in front of her, impressing his potential mate with his stellar flight abilities.

Anna’s that winter in cold weather areas benefit from the extremely well insulated nests they build. Temperatures inside the nest can be 40 degrees warmer than outside.  This keeps the eggs warm and helps the female conserve energy. Within two weeks of hatching a baby hummer has grown a downy coating of feathers that allows it to maintain its own body temperature.

Other winter nesters begin the mating process in January and February, including Harris’s hawks, red-tailed hawks, barn owls, Costa’s hummingbirds and members of the dove family.

*Previously published in December 2024