Northern Pygmy-Owl

Northern Pygmy-Owl adult female and her nestlings in the 5 days prior to the start of fledging. Composite video created from videos recorded on 14, 15, 17, and 18 June 2026. Fledging began either late on 18 June 2026 or early on 19 June 2026. This video exists because John Deshler shared the location of this owl family with me. As of this post, John has found 95 Northern Pygmy-Owl nests in Forest Park over the years, including 8 nests during the 2026 season. You can learn more about Northern Pygmy-Owls from John's fictionalized account of Northern Pygmy-Owl families in his book, The Pygmy-Owls of Forest Park, which is based on his years of research on Northern Pygmy-Owls in Forest Park. More information available at https://www.thepygmyowlsofforestpark.... Forest Park, Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon, USA 14 - 18 June 2026 5:10 adult male contact call (quiet in background) 6:03 adult male with avian prey 6:29 adult male contact call with male shown - he makes this call to alert the female, who then typically retrieves the prey from the male and then delivers it to the nestlings 6:58 adult male contact calls with male shown (3 calls in rapid succession) 7:16 adult male contact calls (2 calls in rapid succession) 7:34 aggressive head wiggling (depth perception) by nestling in nest cavity opening 8:06 adult male contact call (quiet in background) 8:08 adult male contact call 8:15 adult male contact call 8:18 adult male contact call 8:19 adult male contact call 8:21 adult male contact call 8:40 adult male contact calls (2 calls in rapid succession) 8:51 adult (male?) exiting nest cavity after feeding babies 10:52 adult male contact calls (3 calls in rapid succession) 11:22 adult male contact call 11:24 adult male contact call 14:05 nestling rotating head ~ 90 degrees 17:52 nestling leaning out of nest 18:53 adult female appears in nest cavity opening after feeding nestlings 20:34 adult female exiting nest cavity 20:37 nestling head rotation, approaching ~180 degrees to look up 21:39 intensive head wiggling by nestling in nest cavity opening 28:40 nestling tilts head upward to look up high (does this multiple times over the next 45 seconds) 31:56 nestling retreats into cavity, out of view, and then returns to the cavity opening 38:34 adult female delivers avian prey to nest 38:42 adult female appears in nest cavity opening after feeding nestlings (there was much more time between the female entering and reappearing than is depicted in this video) 38:57 adult female attempts to remove hanging bark that broke off well after she originally laid the eggs