Ready for its first flight attempts, this young Snowy Owl’s primary flight feathers have developed by Day 27 (4 weeks) at a nest site in far northern Alaska, near the town of Utqiagvik (photos courtesy of the Owl Research Institute). This photo shows downy nestlings aged 2 days apart from Day 2 to Day 6 with an egg yet to hatch.

Owls seem to captivate everyone in some way, and during this season of nestling development, we all have questions about how quickly young birds grow and develop. Sometimes, learning about a growing nestling firsthand can be as easy as finding just the right website provided by the top professionals in the world. And that’s what you get when you take a look at “A Photographic Guide to Aging and Sexing Snowy Owls from Hatching to Fledging.” This interesting and concise online publication by the Owl Research Institute provides almost day to day illustrations of how young owls grow and develop.

It is especially interesting to see the step-by-step development of young owls from the time they begin breaking through the egg shell to their first flight. While this publication focuses on Snowy Owls in detail, it also provides interesting information for birders to get an idea of how owls in general develop from downy, blind nestlings to mostly feathered fledglings testing their wings. Having shared the above information, it’s best to refer you on to the Owl Research Institute’s impressive online publication at Snowy Owl Photo Guide | owlresearchinstitute and you can also download a PDF of this photo guide for your files.