Owls (Wild Only)
View allAll Photos Tagged Owls
Taken near Moorlinch in Somerset. :)
More pics in my new blog post here;
carlbovisnaturephotography.blogspot.com/2018/07/little-te...
Beautiful creatures and full of character . This one and it's mate were busy all afternoon providing for their chicks.
Tawny Owl - Strix Aluco
Thank you to all who take the time to Comment/fav etc ..Always appreciated
Tawny Owl - Strix Aluco
The tawny owl or brown owl (Strix aluco) is a stocky, medium-sized owl commonly found in woodlands across much of Eurasia. Its underparts are pale with dark streaks, and the upperparts are either brown or grey. Several of the eleven recognised subspecies have both variants. The nest is typically in a tree hole where it can protect its eggs and young against potential predators. This owl is non-migratory and highly territorial. Many young birds starve if they cannot find a vacant territory once parental care ceases.
This nocturnal bird of prey hunts mainly rodents, usually by dropping from a perch to seize its prey, which it swallows whole; in more urban areas its diet includes a higher proportion of birds. Vision and hearing adaptations and silent flight aid its night hunting. The tawny owl is capable of catching smaller owls, but is itself vulnerable to the eagle owl or northern goshawk.
Although many people believe this owl has exceptional night vision, its retina is no more sensitive than a human's and its asymmetrically placed ears are key to its hunting by giving it excellent directional hearing. Its nocturnal habits and eerie, easily imitated call, have led to a mythical association of the tawny owl with bad luck and death.
Population:
UK breeding:
50,000 pairs
The rich baritone hooting of the Barred Owl is a characteristic sound in southern swamps, where members of a pair often will call back and forth to each other. Although the bird is mostly active at night, it will also call and even hunt in the daytime. Only a little smaller than the Great Horned Owl, the Barred Owl is markedly less aggressive, and competition with its tough cousin may keep the Barred out of more open woods. One of the first things you will notice with the Barred Owl is that they appear to have no ears. They aren’t visible from the top of their head as they are with other species of owls. They are brownish in color as well as shades of gray.
The Barred Owl hunts by night or day, perhaps most at dawn and dusk. Seeks prey by watching from perch, also by flying low through forest; may hover before dropping to clutch prey in talons. The Barred Owl eats mostly, small mammals, rabbits, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates. They are known to wade in water to catch crayfish.
The belly feathers of some Barred Owls are pink. This coloring may be the result of eating a lot of crayfish.
I found this one in the Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area in Osceola County, Florida.
A Short-eared Owl quartering a field.
Many thanks to all who take the time to view, comment or fave my images.
Another shot from a great encounter with this Owl from a couple of weeks ago. Always a wonderful experience.
Thorhild County. Alberta.
Yesterday I posted a shot of a Barred Owl on a fence post that had a caterpillar on it. I sent the image to U of A Entomologist John Acorn for an explanation and identification. Several contacts have asked for an update. John went out and collected it today. Here is his reply:
"The caterpillar has been dead for some time, killed by parasites. There are multiple exit holes where parasites emerged from the host's body. Most of the hairs (setae) have worn off, so it is not easy to recognize, but I think it is probably Acronicta dactylica, the Fingered Dagger Moth."
The barred owl (Strix varia), or northern barred owl, is a true owl native to eastern North America. Adults are large, and are brown to grey with barring on the chest. Barred owls have expanded their range to the west coast of the United States, where they are considered invasive. Mature forests are their preferred habitat, but they are also found in open woodland areas. Their diet consists mainly of small mammals, but they are also known to prey upon other small animals such as reptiles and amphibians. This was taken at the CRC.
A Great Gray Owl (Strix nebulosa) patiently listens for movement under the snow cover possibly identifying its next meal in the boreal woods north of Opal, Alberta, Canada.
23 November, 2017.
Slide # GWB_20171123_9806.CR2
Use of this image on websites, blogs or other media without explicit permission is not permitted.
© Gerard W. Beyersbergen - All Rights Reserved Worldwide In Perpetuity - No Unauthorized Use.
Snowy Owl
Many thanks to all those who View, Comment and or Fave My Photos... It is greatly appreciated... Roy
All images full frame unless the filename reflects "Crop"
The great horned owl (Bubo virginianus), also known as the tiger owl or the hoot owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an extremely adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas. Its primary diet appears to be rabbits and hares, rats and mice and voles, although it freely hunts any animal it can overtake, primarily other rodents and small mammals, but also larger mid-sized mammals, various birds, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates.
I was very excited that we had an opportunity to see and photograph this Striped Owl during our trip to Costa Rica this month. I think it is such a pretty bird. What I was particularly surprised by was that this bird was out on a rainy night. In my past experience I have found it quite rare to see owls of any kind out in the rain. If you look closely you can actually see some of the water droplets on the owl’s head in this photo.
We will be doing this trip again next spring, if you think you might be interested more information is available here: www.texastargetbirds.com/group-photo-trips/2018-costa-ric...
_MG_1263-web
Pseudoscops clamator
Another shot of this gorgeous owlet.
We have passed this nest several times on our morning walk, without noticing it.
So what a surprise it was to see this little cutie staring at us in the early morning light.
He/she was quite distant and we did not wish to disturb the nest. We did however spend a few wonderful minutes watching before it hopped back into the nest hole.
So far this has been the only occasion we have spotted the youngster.
Tawny Owl - Strix Aluco
Esholt - Yorkshire
Once again many thanks to all those who view my photos and a special thanks to all who fave and comment on them. They are all truly appreciated and welcome.
DSC_2948-2