Great Horned Owl Pair: Courting in December?

This appears to be the male of a pair of Great Horned Owls in Utah County, UT
Both were found roosting in the same tree about 15 feet apart.

Great Horned Owls are solitary except during breeding season. If they are not paired up for breeding they roost alone during the day and hunt alone during the evening. They are known to begin breeding during winter months, often starting in January here in Utah. The early start to breeding provides them the benefit of using nests that hawks, ravens, herons, or other other birds built and used months earlier for their own breeding purposes. In other words, Great Horned Owls are not nest builders but rather nest takers or squatters of the bird world.

I went for a drive this afternoon in Utah County and was on my way home when I saw the following scene off to my left. I caught a very quick glance of what looked like the tufts of a Great Horned Owl. I backed up and confirmed my suspicions and decided to capture a few images. As I approached the group of trees I noticed there were actually two owls. While I didn't initially notice both owls from the road I captured the following image as I was leaving so you can detect both owls with a careful look. One is the dark vertical figure in the lower left quadrant and the other is between the forked branches in the lower right quadrant of the image.

One owl was noticeably smaller and lighter in color. That individual also showed more of a white patch on the chest below the throat area. The other owl was larger and darker in color. The tawny color around the eyes of the larger owl was also darker. Since Great Horned Owls are sexually dimorphic, showing differences in plumage and size, I suspect that this is a courting pair and the female is pictured below on the right--the larger and darker one. I used exposure compensation when I captured these images in the field to increase the exposure of the owls since they were in the shade. Consequently, the sky and some branches that were well lighted naturally are overly exposed in my images.

     

After observing these owls for a few minutes I recalled that the earliest pair I'd seen prior to this was January 24th of 2013 in Goshen, Utah. I also recalled the two Great Horned Owl nests I monitored last spring in American Fork and south of Saratoga Springs, Utah. I had a realization that the cycle of life moves quickly. The years are seemingly passing more quickly with each year I age.

I'll keep an eye on this pair if they remain in the same area. I'd love to watch another generation of Great Horned Owls flourish in Utah County over the next several months.

This appears to be the female of a pair of Great Horned Owls in Utah County, UT
Both were found roosting in the same tree about 15 feet apart.

This appears to be the male of a pair of Great Horned Owls in Utah County, UT