YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — According to Yellowstone National Park (YNP), great horned owls are already starting to defend nesting territories with loud hoots and screams, spurred on by the increasing daylight hours.
“As we’re in the midst of a winter cold snap here in Yellowstone, it’s hard to imagine any creature preparing for spring,” YNP writes on a Jan. 19 Facebook post. “But the deep series of nocturnal hoots ringing out from patches of forest throughout Yellowstone would indicate otherwise.”
This territorial defense is in anticipation of females laying eggs and incubating them through some of the coldest months of the year, after which the owlets will hatch in the spring. By fall, those baby birds will already be hunting on their own.
According to the National Audubon Society, great horned owls are found throughout almost all of North America, from swamps to deserts to northern coniferous forest. This species typically remains monogamous, mating for life if possible. The National Park Service confirms they are the most common owl in YNP.
