Owls Age, as determined by wing molt:

•Hatching Year (HY), a bird hatched the previous spring/summer - its entire plumage, grown at the same time, consists of uniformly new, deep brown, glossy feathers.

Photos: Audrey Heagy

Second Year (SY), in which the owl has a block of new, glossy, dark outermost primaries and new, glossy, dark innermost secondaries next to the body, with a big block of noticeably older, faded feathers in between.