For the past month or so I’ve been hearing what sounded like three or four Great Horned Owls hooting all around my house at night. Then about a month ago I began seeing a pair of them flying about in the early evening hours, which is unusual, I think. I’ve never actually seen them before because they don’t start calling until it gets dark. But these two have been especially active. I’ve gotten a few photos of them from a distance, but hadn’t been able to tell where they were coming from or where they roosted. But tonight while walking the dogs along a path near my house, I noticed not only some white spatters of bird dropping beneath a willow tree, but also some small, soft, gray lumps – owl pellets!
For anyone who doesn’t know, owls eat primarily mice, which they swallow whole. Their gullet stores the indigestible fur and bones, which is regurgitated up as pellets. I remember dissecting these pellets and reconstructing mouse skeletons in my 7th grade science class. The pellets are a tell-tale sign of owls occupying a tree. 
Once I realized what they gray lumps were, I looked up to find a pair of Great Horned Owls staring back at me. And… not far from the female was a good sized nest of sticks. Between the nest, the droppings and the pellets - this has to be their roost! I can see them from behind the shed near the house - I’ll have to keep an eye on them to see if I can tell whether or not they’re sitting on eggs. They have become quiet in the past couple of days, which for most birds does indicate brooding, but not sure with owls. Sure wish I could climb in the neighboring tree to get photos! If only there were a way to do that without disturbing them...
