I took this photo in 2020. Instead of hiking around Manhattan, I was hiking in the woods north of the city. I think I can say many altered their lives in significant ways after March of 2020, although for some it may have been temporary.
Have you made changes that you stuck to? For me it was probably taking more animal pictures. What about you?
Going off the beaten path and travelling on a country road I had not travelled on before, I had to stop and take this picture.
It is another example of using an vintage vehicle to advertise. This one advertises a farm. Go off the beaten path once in a while, there are interesting things to see.
The barred owl has a facial disk. The disk is composed of feathers that grow around the owl’s head. These feathers help make the bared owl a skilled hunter. These feathers they say help direct sound to the bird’s ears. They say it is the same effect as cupping your hands behind your ears. The disk feathers allow them to hear the movement of a mouse in the grass, the flapping of feathers in the night, or the slithering of a snake in a tree or on the ground.
The hunter becomes the hunted in the Pacific Northwest. The government wants to cull barred owls. The barred owl is being blamed for the decrease in population of the spotted owl. The barred is more indigenous to the east coast, but has been moving over the the Pacific Northwest. Therefore, the US Fish and Wildlife wants people to kill 500,000 of them. It is very controversial as it will eliminate a species in one area to save another. What do you think?
This pair has been in and out of public land at one of the many places I hike. It has mostly been outside of public land past two years. Too many things have happened and continue to happen that keep them on private lands. Tonight the pair crossed the border into public land.
I actually saw one of them on Sunday morning. I was looking at another bird and the owl made one of the many sounds a barred owl makes. Turns out it was in a neighbouring tree. I would like to think it was saying hi!
I have not heard any of the usual telltale signs they are near in the past several months such as the complaining of robins, bluejays, chipmunks, etc. Birds complain when a hawk or owl is nearby. Tonight was the first time I heard the signs, but it was well after I saw it.
The pictures above and below are at sunset. It actually caught something on the ground and carried it to a neighbouring tree to its mate. The mate ate a little then carried it off towards private land. I think they will only be occasional opportunities on the fly to see them again this year.
I hope I see them again in the future. This was unexpected, but great nonetheless.
These pictures were taken recently in what may have been the short-eared owls last day here. A big event happened and that may have driven them back up north to Canada. The season started out with not much luck for me, but ended with a bang.
I did not have much luck until sometime around mid-February and had more luck after the time change. On weekends in winter the place is mobbed and the behaviour of some of the photographers I believe keeps them far away from where we are allowed to stand. I say some, not all. Most respect the rules of the location and the animals. The short-eared owls usually leave sometime in March, but they stayed until past mid-April. People were hoping they were going to stay year round. (I went to another location yesterday and I was told it was a great year for short-eared owl viewing there as well).
One owl would land on trees, various posts and do close fly-bys. I among others believe it was the same owl every time. When I say close fly-bys I mean within 5-10 feet of you. I hope the same owl returns next year. Otherwise, I enjoyed it while it lasted mid-February through mid-April. Seeing an owl close up was not a daily occurrence. Sometimes it would come up to a nearby post or do fly-bys when there was low light. If the conditions were not right you would not see them close or at all.
One thing I learned and it seems to be true is the short-eared owls do not like wind over 10 miles and hour. It was rare to see them fly when the wind was above 10 mph. I believe on this night it was not promising, but a cloudy day changed into one with no clouds at the horizon and it made for good light after 6. The winds also died down. Right around the time for these two events we started to see them pop up and fly.
Get out and enjoy the wildlife that reside in your state! Have a great rest of your week!
I heard a big chunks falling off a tree to the ground. It was a pileated woodpecker destroying a tree. He was in search of bugs to eat and was tearing chunks of bark off the tree.
They may be starting to nest. There is a lot more activity in the woods. Get out and enjoy a walk in the woods. Unplug from your devices and enjoy nature’s sounds. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
I take pictures of tree holes. I know that may be odd. I am hoping to find an owl or another animal dwelling in the hole. This photo was taken from quite a distance with a zoom lens and is heavily cropped. It was before sunset.
I did not see the raccoon when I aimed for the tree hole. Maybe it was there and the image was too small to see it, or maybe it just entered the frame just as I clicked. After I zoomed in and looked at my camera I said Holy Cow! Then I went for a closer look at the tree. I did not see the raccoon again. Hopefully it was his home and not another animal’s home he was looking to raid eggs from. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
The short-eared owl was in a new spot tonight. I am convinced it is the same owl every time one lands on posts etc. This time it landed on the ground next to the parking lot. The wind had picked up and it settled there for a long time looking to be in a not so happy mood. They do not seem to like winds above 10 miles an hour.
Yes, I felt the earthquake today. I was on the third floor of my workplace. The building shook for about 20 seconds or so, the floor seemed to shake, and there was a rumbling noise. I was surprised it was only a 4.8, but there appears only be some minor damage in places such as cracks on walls and water in basements. I did not feel any of the aftershocks. The were less intense. The one most likely to be felt I think occurred around 6 p.m., but I was watching this owl by then and was further away. Have a great weekend.
When the owls come out in better light it gives me a chance to up the shutter speed to 1/2000 of a second. This enables me to stop the action better and get less blur and more details in the image.
Many times they are coming out at sunset or after sunset. To try to reduce noise in the photos I had lower shutter speeds in early photos. Many of those photos have blur in the wings and do not have sharp details. I have a lot of shots the last two or three days I went where they came out prior to sunset. This photo was still lightened. Hopefully your week is not as soggy as mine so far.
Some people only go in search of wildlife on sunny days with blue skies. Some people only look for things in early morning or golden hour light. Sometimes cloudy days or photos a few hours before sunset can work.
I take photos whenever I can get them. Animals do not go by our schedule. I have a lot of short eared owl photos. I was happy anytime I saw them, but hoped for good lighting conditions.
It sounds like we will have rainy and possibly snowy weather this week. Whatever the weather, have a nice week.
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