Great horned owl, 28 January 2026, Allgeheny County (photo by Dana Nesiti; screenshot from video below)

17 February 2026

Late last month when it was only 6°F Dana Nesiti found and recorded a male great horned owl at his daytime roost. At this time of year male owls roost within sight and sound of their mate’s location. Soon the pair will be parents. This bird is Papa Owl.

Great horned owls breed in winter and by late January have already paired up and selected a nest which they stole from another species(*). The female spends daylight at the nest, lays eggs and incubates. The male roosts nearby in case he is needed during the day. At night he hunts and brings her food.

Last year Dana chronicled Schenley Park’s great horned owls who used an old red-tailed hawk nest on the Panther Hollow Bridge. In early February, before the eggs hatched, the male roosted in the super structure of the bridge.

Male great horned owl at Panther Hollow Bridge, 2 Feb 2025 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

After the eggs hatched he roosted further away in a tree while the young grew up.

Great horned owl chicks with mother at nest on Panther Hollow Bridge, Schenley, 23 Feb 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

The siblings were adorable, grew up and flew away to find their own homes.

Great horned owl siblings in Schenley Park on a cold morning, 1 April 2025 (photo by Dana Nesiti)

This year the old bridge nest was removed in preparation for major bridge repairs beginning next month but, as you will learn in Dana’s video, owls have a relatively small territory and they do not leave.

The Schenley Park pair is somewhere in or near the park this year but I don’t know where. The female and nest are easiest to find because they are large and stationery, but finding the male in January/February is a good clue.

But first you have to find the owl.

Here’s a Papa Owl that Dana found somewhere in Allegheny County. This is what to look for.

(*) Great horned owls never build a nest.