Hoot!

Went out looking for owls tonight, and got lucky with this girl and her mate. She's a great horned owl, in case you aren't familiar with the species. In case you're curious, they use that neck pouch to hoot, just like a frog. :)

Fine Feathered Friend

I saw something flying by during my recent trip to Circle B Bar Preserve in Lakeland. It was too fast and too far away for me to tell what it was, but I was able to train the camera on it and hold down the button. It wasn't until I got the photos home and out of the camera, then do some enhancement that I realized it was an owl! Click on the shot above to see a larger version and you'll see an eye that leaves no doubt in my mind. I can't tell you what kind of owl for sure, but it's an owl. He's also got a twig or a piece of string stuck in his tail. Perhaps that's why he was flying around during the day, trying to shake it off because it was keeping him awake worrying about it. Or maybe not...

The Other Baby Owl

I think I mentioned the myriad of photographers that were on the ground with me shooting pictures of the great horned owls at the Venice Rookery on Saturday. Well, one of the topics of conversation was other nests and that led to the location of this second great horned owl nest near Ruskin on Cockroach Bay Road. We trekked up there Sunday under gray skies, but managed to find the nest. Again, it used to be an osprey nest, but the owls took it over this year. It was in pretty bad shape, and if someone hadn't said there were owls there I wouldn't have given it a second look. But sure enough, there was a baby owl.

He was nice enough to stick his head up for a few shots, but we never did spot either parent. There weren't any other photographers around, but many cars on the road slowed down and looked as they drove by. I guess the owls are sort of local celebrities.

This photo shows the whole nest, and makes it look a little better than it actually was. It's not going to survive if they get much of a windstorm up there.

They're so cute when they're young!

Mother & Child

I showed you individual shots of the mommy owl and baby owl from Saturday earlier this week. I went back to the Venice Rookery later on that same day, and I discovered both birds together up on the tower near their nest.

As you can see, the baby is almost as big as the parent, he just needs to grow in some actual adult feathers.  I didn't think he was that big earlier in the day when I saw him peering over the edge of the nest.  Scuttlebutt among the gathered photographers was that there had been two babies up until recently.  One of them had fallen out and been taken to a local animal rescue center where he was doing well.  Hopefully, they'll be able to raise him and release him to the wild.

The hard part was getting a shot of both of them looking at the camera at the same time. The baby was much more curious about us photographers down on the ground, but the parent could care less about us and was intent on the sundown for some reason.

I figure catching them both looking in the same direction was a good shot, even if it wasn't in the direction of the camera.

Looking at each other, perhaps? That's not a bad shot.

Mommy got so bored with the proceedings that she started yawning.

And the joke among the photographers on the ground was that baby had gotten into the poison ivy. He was scratching a lot.

It takes a lot of stretching to get those wings ready for flight.

Then Mommy got the itchies.

Then everybody got the itchies.

The almost full moon was rising in the background, and I found a hole in the trees to get the shot. Unfortunately, I couldn't manage to get both the moon and the birds in focus at the same time. It's a tough shot to get.  I suppose I could look up how far I needed to be away from the birds at a given f-stop for both the birds and infinity to be in focus at the same time...  I know, the moon really isn't at infinity, but at 238,000 miles away, it may as well be.  Hmmm, looks like I would have had to be over 600 feet from the birds before I stood a chance of getting both them and the moon in focus.  Not likely.

I got tired of shooting the owls for a bit, and wandered off. When I returned, there had been some movement, and the sun had gone down. You can see that Mommy looks more alert now. Pretty soon it will be her time to shine.

Baby didn't want to stay down in the nest for long, so he hopped back up beside mommy.

As I said, the sun had gone down at this point, so I was pretty close to shooting in the dark. But I was happy that I finally got some pictures with movement in them.

But then Baby got back in the nest.

Then he jumped up beside Mommy again. He's a little indecisive or insecure or something.

I wish I'd gotten motion shots like this when there was some light to be had.

Baby's got his eye on Mommy, but Mommy is looking like she's ready to get on with the hunt.

Baby makes his move to go be with Mommy.

But just like that, Mommy is off.

But Mommy didn't go far.

She just flew to the top of the tower where the nest was, but it seemed to be far enough that Baby couldn't hop up there. It was only a minute or so after this last picture that Mommy spread her wings and flew off into the trees. I know this because I was watching. If I hadn't been watching, I never would have known because she didn't make a sound. Not a flap, not a rustle, not a hoot. Well, actually, she did hoot a few times while she was sitting up top like that. Fairly faint for a bird this big, but very distinct. I imagine that she was telling her baby not to worry, she'd be back soon with some nice field mice for dinner.

PS-These Great Horned Owl pictures are dedicated to my friend Meredith, who I haven't seen or heard from in a long while now. She introduced me to my first great horned owl, and I've been hunting for them and other birds ever since. Thanks, M!

The Baby Owl

I showed you some pictures yesterday of a great horned owl that's taken up residence in an old osprey nest near the Venice Rookery. Well, I was assured that there was something in the nest, but when I first arrived there was nothing to be seen.

About half an hour later I walked back, and this time there was indeed what looked like a small ball of fuzz with eyes peering over the edge of the nest. Sure enough, it was an owlet. This was my first time seeing a baby owl, so I was pretty excited.

I watched him for a long time, and eventually he stood up and showed us more of himself. He's a lot bigger than I first imagined.

But eventually he got tired of putting on a show for the assembled photographic multitude. He ducked back down and all you could see was the tip of his head. I guess babies need a lot of sleep. And perhaps they're nocturnal, just like their parents.

The Big Attraction

When I first got to the Venice Rookery on Saturday, I had to drive through a crowd of photographers all gathered together a ways up the road from the island. I figured it was some sort of tour or group planning some other event, so I didn't pay a lot of attention. Later on, someone down at the lake told me what the big deal was. A pair of great horned owls had taken over what had been an osprey nest in previous years and were raising a family. So I grabbed my camera and walked slowly back up the road. I couldn't see anything in the nest, but I finally found one of the parents in a pine tree across the street. Well, I didn't find him, someone who was already shooting his picture pointed him out to me.

I almost couldn't believe my eyes. There, right above me, was a bird I had never seen before in the wild. He was just sleeping the day away, almost oblivious to the crowd of photographers and bird watchers gathered beneath him. Notice that in all these photos, he doesn't even open his eyes. He'd turn his head once in a while, and occasionally ruffle his feathers, but he never opened his eyes any wider than a lazy squint.

This guy was probably 16 to 18 inches high, but it was a little hard to tell since he was 20 feet up in a tree. You wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley, that's for sure.

I guess this isn't his best side. I shot hundreds of pictures of this owl, so this is only the first of several posts featuring the great bird.

Hoot!

I'd hoped to finish up the Airfest pictures today, but I was out all day taking pictures. And I really don't have time to share all of the new ones since it's so late now. Maybe tomorrow. But here's a little taste of what I shot today. You like?

(Insert Appropriate Reference Here)

The third and final owl from Oscar Scherer last Sunday is this barred owl. I didn't get any shots looking straight into his eyes, but I don't think this one is too bad.

Same as the screech owl, this guy was keeping an eye on the limbs above his head in case he saw something that resembled dinner. Luckily for those birds up there, he was firmly tied down with some jesses around his legs.

You Are Getting Very Sleepy

Continuing on with the owls from Oscar Scherer this weekend, here is a little tiny screech owl. He may look fierce in the shot above, and don't get me wrong, he's a mean one, but he's only about six inches high. OK, maybe seven with those tufts on the top of head at full attention. He could still take a piece out of you if he wanted too. It might not be a very big piece, but I am sure it would hurt a lot.


There were birds in the tree above this guy sometimes, and every time they'd move or make a peep, he was quick to give them the evil eyeball.

Look Deep Into My Eyes

If you ever find yourself with a view like this in real life, turn and run. From Oscar Scherer State Park this weekend and their Earth Day festivities, this is a great horned owl. These are among the most ferocious predators in the avian kingdom, meaner than most hawks and probably some eagles. I can only think of one time I've seen an owl in the wild, and that's thanks to the fact that they are nearly silent in flight, and they don't hoot as often as you might hope. I love the picture above, except for the fact that his eyes are out of focus. The camera is focused on his beak. The shot below is nice, too, but not nearly so fierce.

Earth Day Is For The Birds

After going to Sun-N-Fun Thursday, Friday and Saturday, I needed a break on Sunday. But instead of staying in all day, I went out to the Earth Day celebration at Oscar Scherer State Park down in Nokomis, Florida. It's a nice little park that runs alongside a brackish creek, and is always good for a few pictures. I stumbled across their Earth Day celebration last year, so I wanted to go again this year. I wasn't disappointed! Same as last year, they had a number of groups that brought out animals for show and tell, including these four birds. Above you have the most active of the critters, a red-tailed hawk named Elvis. I know I took plenty of pictures of him last year, and I took plenty more this year. He's mighty photogenic, don't you think?

Next up is a great horned owl. I don't know why this guy appeared so sleepy. Maybe he didn't want to be up and about during the middle of the day. He was also a repeat from last year.

New at the celebration this year was a group that had a mountain lion and this bald eagle. I couldn't get any pictures of the mountain lion, as he was napping the whole time, but I did get some great shots like this one of the bald eagle. You can't appreciate how big these birds are until you're standing five feet away, and you realize he could tear off pieces of your body if he wanted to. I believe this guy's name was Thunder.

Another rerun from last year is Aurora, an American Kestrel, one of my favorite members of the raptor family. I can't get decent pictures of these guys in the wild, so I have to depend on shows like this to see them up-close. They never brought him out into the sunlight, so I wasn't able to capture the delicate blue color of the feathers on his head. But you can at least get a good idea of his small stature compared to the glove on which he's perched.