View allAll Photos Tagged owlets
The third of three barred owlets surveys the big world and the crowd of admirers at a local popular garden sanctuary in early May. The parents chose to nest in a tree close to the gated entrance, which caused much consternation among the staff who expended great effort posting signs prohibiting tripods or loitering, and shooing photographers along.
We were excited to spot this tiny owl in a tree while walking back to our lodge after dinner. African barred owlets are a type of pygmy owl, not more than seven inches in length. They are found in forests with large trees, and have been seen in open savannah. They feed primarily on insects, but small birds and mammals are also taken when the opportunity permits.
The recent Sony FE 200-600mm f5.6-6.3 G OSS got me excited especially because it's an internal zoom. If this is sharp wide opened at 600mm f6.3, it's a winner. I've used the older Tamron 150-600mm f5.6-6.3 but that lens needed to be stopped down to f8.0 for it to be sharp enough.
Haven't been moved at all by the new releases like the 24mm f1.4 GM, CV 40mm f1.2 Nokton or even the FE 135mm f1.8 GM but this 200-600mm.....
Decided to finally use my FE 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 GM OSS with 1.4x TC on my a7rii. A better way to carry the setup is by attaching my holster bag to a waist belt to distribute some weight away from my shoulder, it helped on long hikes. Never previously thought of travelling with this setup given the size and weight but pleasantly found it to be rather workable.
Was lucky to come across this baby owl but as with most owls, they are typically found under heavy shade.
Without a tripod with me, shot this handheld at 560mm f8.0 at 1/25s braced against a tree trunk, ISO was already well into 4 digits. Wish I had the tripod, results would be much better but that is even more weight. I'm reminded why I liked this GM zoom, it's easily handholdable for long periods.
That 2/3 of a stop advantage of the new FE 200-600mm at 600mm will make a difference for handheld shots like this without the tripod.
Guess I'll only consider adding this new FE 200-600mm to my FE 100-400mm GM if the FE 200-600mm is:
1) sharp wide opened at 600mm f6.3,
2) takes 1.4TC well in terms of resolution,
3) AF performance on A7R3 with 1.4TC, apparently it's CDAF only but may be a non-issue in next Gen bodies.
If the new 200-600mm needed to be stopped down to f8.0 for sharpness or image degradation is obvious with 1.4TC, I will stick with my 100-400mm GM (553gms lighter even with 1.4TC).
Folks without the 100-400mm GM, the new 200-600mm will be a better choice for birding if the extra weight is not an issue.
I shall conclude my photo uploads of 2024 with a series of bird photos around Satara Restcamp.
Unexpectedly, driving by, we initially thought "the brown splotch in the bush" was just another one of the leaf-constructs built by some communal spiders - until suddenly it moved. I hastily put in the breaks and reversed. Using the zoom on my camera, I cheered - for this bird made a new one on my Life List. A beautiful Pearl-spotted Owlet interrupted her daily sleep to lazily eye us, before closing its eyes again, continuing its nap.
A video taken from Kevin Robson's Tawny Owl hide , details of which can be found here --- www.khrimages.co.uk
Australian Owlet-nightjar (female) rufous morph
Aegotheles cristatus
September 17th, 2017
Mount Martha, Victoria, Australia
Canon EOS 1D X
Canon EF 600mm f4L IS II USM lens
Canon EF 1.4x III Extender
Incredibly excited to finally get an opportunity to photograph this species - and in daylight! This female had been using a particular tree as her daytime roost, which may indicate she was nesting. On sunny afternoons, she liked to sit at the entrance to her hollow & take in the last of the days sun.
The Owlet-nightjar is the smallest, most common, & widely distributed nocturnal bird in Australia. They come in two different plumage colourations; rufous (pictured) & the more common grey. Interestingly, only females appear in the rufous plumage. This female was particularly rufous in colour.
Saw three of these, two of these together in a branch. Apparently, preparing to Nest nearby, which subsequently I saw them in a hollow of the tree.
Australian Owlet-nightjar
Aegotheles cristatus
June 1st, 2019
Terrick Terrick, Victoria, Australia
Canon EOS 1D X Mark II
Canon EF 600mm f4L IS II USM lens
Canon EF 1.4x III Extender
Always a thrill to find this beautiful little birds of the night during daylight hours. This Owlet-nightjar was basking in the last sunlight of a cool Winter's day in Terrick Terrick National Park.
For those who had seen my earlier upload of this Owlet, glad to say I did manage to gain the confidence of the bird and get closer without spooking it, but this time from a different angle. This small Owlet has a rounded head and is finely barred all over. There is no clear facial disk and the wings are brownish and the tail is narrowly barred in white. There are two subspecies, the nominate form is found in the plains of India and Sri Lanka while 'malabaricum' of the Western Ghats, seen in this shot, is shorter tailed and shows more brown on the head. It has been suggested that this may warrant full species status.
Two of three owlets look out at the world from their cavity nest about fifteen minutes before sunset.
Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio
The owlet on the right was sleeping for the longest time while I tried to get this picture of the three siblings.
Just after a very warm June shower..showing it's best wet look. But didn't take long after to dry off and have that fluffed look.
This species is nocturnal but is sometimes seen in the day. When disturbed from their daytime site, they bob their head and stare at intruders. It can often be located by the small birds that mob it while it is perched in a tree. It hunts a variety of insects and small vertebrates. In Pakistan they have been found to take mostly insect prey.In the arid region of Jodhpur, they have been found to take more rodents (especially in the genus Mus and tend to avoid other rodents such as Tatera) prior to the breeding season. Bats, toads, small snakes such as Ramphotyphlops braminus have been noted. They may also take scorpions and molluscs.Nests near human habitations may show higher breeding success due to increased availability of rodents for feeding young.
The call is a harsh and loud churring and chuckling chirurr-chirurr-chirurr ending with a chirwak-chirwak and they call mainly during early dawn or just after sunset.
The breeding season is November to April. Courtship behaviour includes bill grasping, allopreening and ritual feeding. The female may call with the male, bob head and deflect its tail in invitation. The social organization of family groups is not clear and multiple males may copulate with a female and females may attempt pseudocopulation, possibly a kind of displacement behaviour. They nest in cavities often competing with other hole-nesters such as mynas. They may also nest in holes in vertical embankments. The nest may be lined with leaves and feathers or may use the existing lining from a prior occupant. The typical clutch is made up of three or four spherical white eggs (30.9mm long and 26.3 mm wide, 11.6g) and incubation begins with the first laid eggs leading to a wide variation in the size of the chicks. The young are fed initially on insects such as cockroaches and later fed small vertebrate prey such as mice (a toad Bufo stomaticus has been noted in Gujarat). The chicks gain weight during the early stages but lose weight before fledging. Only one or two chicks may fledge and they leave the nest in about 20–28 days.
The brain has a pineal gland, a feature formerly thought to be absent in the owls. Birds show variation in the melatonin concentration between day and night. A high melatonin level is associated with sleep and low levels are associated with high alertness and foraging activity. Spotted owlets, however, show only a slightly lower melatonin concentration at night with a slight increase in the early afternoon. Other owls such as the barn owl show little day-night variation.Seasonal changes in glandular activity have been associated with environmental factors such as temperature and humidity.
A coccidian parasites, Eimeria atheni, has been described from this species. An ectoparasitic mite, Neocheletiella athene, has been described from a specimen from the Antwerp zoo.Bird lice of the species Colpocephalum pectinatum are known to be ectoparasites.
As of yesterday, this little Great Horned Owl "branchling" seems to have become a nestling once again : ) It has experienced various adventures in the last 10 days or two weeks, but seems to be back on owlet schedule now. I guess we will never know what happened to start all this, though it is possible that this young one was blown out of the nest when we had several days of extremely strong winds recently.
This photo, from 24 April 2015, was taken when I called in very briefly at the park and found the owl on a high Spruce branch. Maybe it "missed" its two younger siblings, so returned to its place of origin : ) No activity from any of the owls, so the 10-minute "limit" on being there and taking photos was more than enough time for me to be there : ) Fully zoomed - Focal Length (35mm format) - 1200 mm.
Yesterday, on the way home from a great day with friends at Frank Lake, I called in at the park again for about half an hour. A bit more activity this time, with all three still together. I knew my "watching" time was up, but I also knew that the number of days before the Tax deadline were running out fast. Got my Taxes ready and finally fell into bed around 5:00 this morning!
"With its long, earlike tufts, intimidating yellow-eyed stare, and deep hooting voice, the Great Horned Owl is the quintessential owl of storybooks. This powerful predator can take down birds and mammals even larger than itself, but it also dines on daintier fare such as tiny scorpions, mice, and frogs. It’s one of the most common owls in North America, equally at home in deserts, wetlands, forests, grasslands, backyards, cities, and almost any other semi-open habitat between the Arctic and the tropics.
Great Horned Owls are nocturnal. You may see them at dusk sitting on fence posts or tree limbs at the edges of open areas, or flying across roads or fields with stiff, deep beats of their rounded wings. Their call is a deep, stuttering series of four to five hoots." From AllAboutBirds.
The first of the three owlets to leave the nest tree. A parent (dad?) was sitting in a nearby tree keeping watch.
Bison Paddock area, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA.
"Hello Down There"
Wikipedia: The Asian barred owlet (Glaucidium cuculoides) is a species of true owl, resident in northern parts of the Indian Subcontinent and parts of Southeast Asia. It ranges across north central and northeast India, Nepal Bhutan, north Bangladesh, and southeast Asia (Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam). Its natural habitat is temperate forest.
A video taken from Kevin Robson's Tawny Owl hide , details of which can be found here --- www.khrimages.co.uk
Went down to the river today to find my bird friends still hanging out....seemingly watching and waiting for people to visit! LOL This one was particularly wide eyed and awake!!! LOL....I sure love these birds. I'm already missing them as I know it won't be long before they fly away!!!! Have a nice weekend everyone!!!!