A family of great horned owls is nesting atop a pretty visible tree in Bernal Heights, and the growing young owlets have become a neighborhood sensation.

There's a little something missing this spring for Bay Area bird lovers, as the famed baby falcons of the UC Berkeley Falcon Cam have not been around to delight bird watchers since the likely death of the mating pair there — possibly from bird flu. But for the last month or so, Bernal Heights has served as the chick magnet for a pair of great horned owls who’ve decided to nest in a tree near the Esmeralda Street steps. They’ve  hatched two growing owlets there, and KGO reports the owls have become a neighborhood phenomenon.

Much like the Berkeley falcon chicks usually would, the two younger great horned owls seem to have hatched in mid-April. But they’re growing quickly, and Bernal residents are documenting their development all over social media.

The owl chicks were substantially fluffier while younger in late April. But now in their adolescence, they’re more mobile, hopping around, and getting ready to take flight.

This family of great horned owls may not have a webcam, but they’re drawing bird enthusiasts by the flock thanks to their very visible perch.

“They’re around us all the time, we just don’t see them usually,” Golden Gate Bird Alliance director of conservation Whitney Grover told the SF Standard. “That pair just nested on a tree where there’s a lot of visibility.”

Yes these owls are nocturnal, but as many Facebook posts show, the family is also active during daylight hours.

"A bunch of us have been keeping an eye on the chicks, they're fluffy," one local told KGO. "They're pretty chill during the day, but if you come out at dusk, they'll start rockin' and rolling."

The Golden Gate Bird Alliance says that great horned owls are actually quite common in SF, they just don’t typically nest in such visible spots. But since this city has an ample population of rodents and rats, the owls’ population has grown here in recent decades.

And in Bernal Heights, it’s become a big deal that the population has grown by two.

Related: Photos: Two Baby Falcon Chicks Hatch on Berkeley Falcon Cam, and on Earth Day to Boot [SFist]

Image: John Bernhelm via Facebook

After becoming caught in debris in a tree, a barn owl starved to death recently.

"On Friday, local birder Dominik Mosur responded to a report of a dead owl hanging in a tree near Mission High School, next to Dolores Park," reports CBS 5. "A math teacher from the high school had recovered the body from the top of a neighboring 50-foot pine tree. The animal was found with black netting tangled around both its legs. Rescuers do not know how long the bird was trapped."

Sad.

To report wild animals found in distress, please contact WildRescue at 866-WILD-911.

Who's the bitch now, scare-away owl?

We got word today from an anonymous source that two residents of Bernal Heights -- including a former President of Golden Gate Audubon Society -- spotted a burrowing owl a block from their house on the southeastern side of the hill. The (sub?)species was confirmed by another Audubon-er.

So, why does this matter? Because at the moment there is construction going on in the same area (i.e., landscaping improvements such as steps, etcetera) where the owl is kicking it. According to Wikipedia, for what it's worth, "[t]he burrowing owl is endangered in Canada, threatened in Mexico, and a species of special concern in Florida and most of the western USA." ("Species of special concern." Aw.) Burrowing owls usually live in ground squirrel holes, according to our source, but so far the bird has been reported up on the Hill, in a tree for the last couple of days.

We talked to the former Audubon president today about the birdie finding, and the Bernal resident wants to know more. To find out if an environmental-impact report was done on the area before current construction, they tried calling the Mayor's office, 311, Tom Ammiano's office, and the City Attorney's office. So far, no one has returned any calls. They also discussed the issue with various fish and game associations, with not much luck there either.

If any of you have further info, we're sure that she (as well as the GG Audubon Society) would love to hear from you, readers. (Also, no little baby kittens better get hurt with this construction, damnit! Kitty cats = sheer darlingness.)