Owls (Wild Only)
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The wonderfully characterful Little Owl is always a pleasure to watch & photograph. The lions share of their diet is made up of earth worms & invertebrates, including a lot of beetles.
Slightly disconcerting for the little chap who's sharing his perch here, I imagine.
Norfolk, England.
This was at Hayes Nature Preserve. The pair have been nesting there for the last few years. I hope to get a few more of them before the young fledge this year. This was from my first encounter with them in 2015.
Tawny Owl - Strix Aluco
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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
My shutter speed was a little slow for a flight shot, There was no time to change settings when this one launched from its perch.
Thorhild County, Alberta.
This owl flew to get away from me but, surprisingly, looped back and flew right back towards the utility pole near where I was standing. Thus, it apparently forgot what it was doing. It flew right at me until it got very close, realized its error and pealed off, giving me in-close side shots too. I wish that this kind of behaviour were more common.
This Barred Owl gave us a delightful experience during a visit to Brazos Bend State Park. We inadvertently flushed it from next to the water up into a low tree where he sat for quite some time while we took way too many photos.
Strix varia
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Hurricane Harvey has not only disrupted people but wildlife as well. We are seeing fewer birds and small animals than we normally see. We went looking for Burrowing Owls in an area where we saw 9 in one day last year and this year we were very happy to find one. Hope he brings his friends with him next year as his food supplies get back to normal.
This lovely Owl didnt mind me being there
As we were heading to the car, it sat there in fading light. Giving me lot of time to get a shot to come out right. Thank you, Owl!
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This guy shows up regularly in my backyard. My defense crows will harass him as soon as he shows up.
Captured this Great Grey owl not far from my gate on my way to go kayaking at sunrise (I recognized the owl from my winter shoot) It isn't camera shy at all but it doesn't like trucks so I get out and walk up. I'm glad I took images of all angles because I am just as crazy about a good background as I am of the subject. Not often I get both.