I'm still kickin' it Hoosier style in Indianapolis.
So, there is an owl nest in a sycamore tree near my mom's condo, we went to visit it yesterday with my Aunt Lorelei. The tree is very light in color and on the top is a place where a large branch ripped off years ago. My mom said that for years when she would pass that tree on her way home from work that she thought it would be a good place for a raptor to nest. Last year, a family member noticed a great horned owl up there and my family has been watching it ever since.
Through the spotting scope you could see the female owl--man, she really blends in with all the dark wood. Even when she was preening and stretching her wings, you really couldn't make her out with the naked eye. You can also see how well her tufts work with the camouflage to look like broken pieces of wood.
Periodically, you could see one of the young owls pop up. I went over and talked to the home owner who had the tree on his property--a very nice man named Steve. He said that he had lived in this house for ten years and the owls always nested there. Neighbors told him the nest was there ten years before that. He was grateful that someone else had noticed the nest besides him.
We did have one guy who drove up, stopped and asked what we were looking at. When we said, "Owl nest." he replied that they make good burgers. Before he drove off, I shouted, "Eagles taste better!"