Tree Kittens

The weather has been better the last few days so I spent a day roaming around the lake.  It was like the old days when I was a fishery biologist and I drove around the lake road doing creel census and counts.  I always watched nests and the changing ecosystem.   One of my favorite birds was great horned owls.  They use the same nesting site but sometimes they steal them from other birds because they nest early and are not particularly picky.  It is always amazing to me they survive since they are hatched and are big before the leaves come out to hide them.  The two birds in the picture are now out of the nest and hopping around on the ground and climbing trees while they wait for the feathers to grow.  They have to do this because they are too large for the nest.  Each is accompanied by a parent that feeds and protects them during their flightless time.  They always remind me of big fluffy kittens with wide eyes.