April 20, 2022 – West Bend, WI – It was January 2021 when the fate of the old West Bend Brewery was sealed as someone covered the cubby hole on the south side of the building that for years served as a nesting box for a Great Horned owl. Neighbors, who wrapped their arms around the annual owl family, mourned the loss of the experience… however….
Follow the Milwaukee River to the south and you may just find an owl family or two sitting in the treetops.
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We really have no idea if it is the same nesting pair that returned annually to the old Brewery… but it is highly possible. The mother owl has a wingspan over 6-feet; she can easily be seen from a distant parking lot.
This year there are two owlets; they just took flight earlier this week.
If you can’t find them staring down at you from above, walk around the base of the trees to see if you can discover remnants from some of their feasts. The Milwaukee River makes for great hunting territory along with open fields where they can snatch a varmint or two.
A successful relocation of the owl nests may mean a better chance at survival since there are no powerlines in the vicinity. It was May 2020 when the young owls took flight to a nearby pine tree and clipped the electrical wire with their wings. A crew from We Energies responded to a call from Bill Mitchell with the DNR. We Energies topped the trees and wrapped some insulation around the wires.
Have you found any signs of Great Horned owls in your community?
We have at least 2 nesting pair here by the river in Farmington and a pair of Eagles nesting on the river for about 5 years now. It’s been r great witnessing the come back of nature over the last 30 years and hope it continues.