Northern Pygmy-Owl

Activity at a Northern Pygmy-Owl nest 3 days prior to the first nestling fledging. This video is comprised of multiple clips strung together. See below for links to timestamps for specific behaviors. 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 24 June 2026 0:00 nestling visible in nest cavity opening 0:36 nestling brief tracks a fly's movements 1:02 nestling starts tracking fly's movements again 1:07 nestling snaps bill while staring at fly 1:09 adult male contact call (very quiet in background) followed by nestling head wiggling (depth perception) 1:15 adult male contact call (slightly louder) and more nestling head wiggling 1:51 intense head wiggling 3:00 two nestlings visible in cavity opening 3:09 top nestling appears to step on head of lower nestling before it descends out of view 3:25 nestling climbs up to a higher perch of the cavity opening 3:55 head wiggling 5:45 nestling starts to track fly's movements 6:42 nearby songbirds (American Robin, Black-headed Grosbeak, Swainson's Thrush) start to issue alarm calls and the nestling becomes relatively inactive as the adult female is now in the area about to deliver prey to the nest 7:04 adult female arrives at nest opening with avian prey 7:10 American Robin flies very close to nest cavity opening and then follows that with intense alarm calls due to agitation resulting from the presence of the adult Northern Pygmy-Owl, which eat robins 7:25 adult female emerges from nest cavity into cavity opening after feeding babies 7:53 adult female climbs to outer ledge in preparation for flight 7:56 adult female flies away, and lands nearby, setting off alarm calls from an American Robin 8:10 nestling in cavity opening 10:19 nestling begins slow descent back into lower part of cavity 11:54 head wiggling 13:33 intense head wiggling 13:55 nestling seems to turn attention to person jogging by on trail 15:06 nestling begins slow descent into lower part of cavity 15:35 nestling ascends into cavity opening and then descends again