Owls (Wild Only)
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Taken near Moorlinch in Somerset. :)
More pics in my new blog post here;
carlbovisnaturephotography.blogspot.com/2018/07/little-te...
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
I am posting a real Snowy Owl today. Thanks for your kind comments on my male Snowy Owl carving posted just before this. Much appreciated.
Strathcona County, Alberta.
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.
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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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.
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...
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Pseudoscops clamator
Same tree, same hole, different bird! Three weeks ago we took a picture of a red owl. This time it is apparently grey. Eastern Screech-Owls have a red morph and a grey morph. We do not know what happened here. Maybe the gray fought for the nest and won, but we hope it is a couple. We will check back if they started a family.
Canon FD300mm f/2.8 and x1.4 extender
The tawny owl, also called the brown owl, is commonly found in woodlands across Europe to western Siberia, and has seven recognized subspecies. It is a stocky, medium-sized owl, whose underparts are pale with dark streaks, and whose upper body may be either brown or grey.Hooting woodland hunter with silent wings. Without a sound, the tawny owl descends from its lofty perch to snatch unsuspecting rodents from the forest floor below.