I decided to swing by the land I see these owls on before dark. It rained part of the day, but continued to look dark and dreary. The last two nights the owls only flew on the other end of the field. Tonight they flew closer. I was able to see them in flight, on a tree, and see one of the short-eared owls on a post.
Short-Eared Owl on a Post
The flight shots were grainy due to high ISO, but you cannot have everything.
Short-Eared Owl on a Post
I may try to go on the weekend, but luck has not been on my side on Saturdays or Sundays. The increase in the number of owl paparazzi on weekends keeps them at bay. Have a great weekend!
I went for a couple of hours to watch the short-eared owls again. This time from the viewing platform, which I usually stay away from. I was lucky they flew nearby, but not too close a few times.
Short-Eared Owl Fly By
They seemed to have come out earlier today than yesterday. It was before sunset started.
Short-Eared Owl Fly By
All pictures were taken with a zoom lens and are heavily cropped.
Short-Eared Owl Fly By -This one is checking us out.
Tonight they spent a lot of time flying to the trees on the edge of the property, which are beyond the trails. It looked like there may have between 8-11. I wonder if it is a gathering before they head back up to northern Canada or the Arctic.
Short-Eared Owl Fly By – Checking us out again
I am guessing they are just as curious at times about us as they do look in our direction. What do you think?
What do you do on a day off? Besides running some errands I also went to see how close the short-eared owls would come today.
Short-eared Owl on the hunt – fly byShort-eared owls on the huntShort-Eared Owls on the hunt. – This one flew over a trail you allowed on.Short-Eared Owl on the hunt
It helped that is was a sunny day and not too windy. They came out at around sunset, so we all had a little bit of time to photography them. They were closer than I had seen them from early December through the beginning of February on Sundays, but not too close. These are all taken with a zoom lens and are heavily cropped. Squeeze in some time with nature and wildlife on your days off. Have a great week!
I usually can only go on Sunday afternoons. Up until now this winter I have not seen short-eared owls, except at quite a distance. Tonight I saw them closer, but still not very close after sunset.
Short-Eared Owl at Night
Weekends are not a good time to go. I have been going on Sundays since early December with little luck. It is crowded and people tend to be loud on the weekends, hence the owls stay far beyond the distance to take a decent photo. Not a good recipe for chances to see them up close. This was just after sunset. Here’s hoping I have better luck in the future.
I went to a place to walk I have not been before. It was my second hiking location of the day and it was less than two hours to sunset. I was happy to see an owl flying in a field heading towards a woods. I followed it. I did not find the parent, but I found one owlet in a nest and one in a branch of the same tree. I could only get the one in the branch from very far away and with the wind it was hard to get a sharp shot.
Great Horned Owlet staring at me. Most of the time it was following its parent with its head and eyes.
I saw these from a distance. This are greatly cropped. A parent from flying tree to ground to tree nearby hunting. I am pretty sure this is the one in the nest.
It was very windy, but it was still great to catch these even from a distance. I could even faintly hear the owlets screech for food. This made my day! Take joy in the little things in life. Have a great week!
I started hearing mayhem amongst the birds in the woods. Crows, a blue jay, some other bird with an annoying call were complaining loudly. I went towards the sound and thought maybe the owl or a hawk caught a bird. The following pictures were taken right before sunset in the woods.
I saw what I believe is the female owl sitting patiently looking up in the trees in the direction of the sound. It turns out the male owl had caught an animal. The birds slowly one by one flew away complaining. After things had quieted down I saw what looked like the other owl fly to a tree and make a short who sound.
The father owl then flew to a neighbouring tree. The mother owl flew over to the tree he had gone to first. The father had left an animal for the mom to eat. How nice of him! I could not tell what it was at first.
I love the heart shapes in her lower feathers by her tail.
The mother owl was nice enough to take the animal and fly off to a neighbouring tree branch where I could get a better view. It appears to be a chipmunk. We are seeing more chipmunks and squirrels now, but not nearly as much as in past years it seems. Many people in this area are commenting the same.
The mother owl spent a lot of time trying to swallow this, give up, then appear to try to rip it or bite pieces, then repeat.
When she was done she flew to another nearby tree and perched for a while. I always feel lucky to see this pair. They have not been together much this year so far. I hope I did not gross you out too much. Enjoy the end of your week!
What may be a good time to find owls? It appears after a rainstorm at night. It seemed to rain much of the night here. They may have needed time during the day to hunt.
I found this one first. You cannot use the usually bluejays being ticked or chipmunks making noise to find them this year. There are a lack of those around as well as squirrels, which are all part of their diet. More hawks around I think is greatly culling the animal population.
This one’s mate was at a neighbouring tree not too far away. The mate is more stealth. If I cannot find him right away I give up and let him show himself to me on his terms.
This one was taken into the late afternoon sunlight.
After resting for a while, they started following each other around. One landed on a branch. When they other one tried to land on the same branch , the branch broke off and fell to the ground sending the owls in quick flight. The one owl was not putting up with having the other on the next branch it landed on. It forced them off.
Later afternoon sunlight. Some dark clouds were coming , so I left.
So they ended up on the same tree. but different areas of it. I think they were wondering if they would see a sunset or another rainstorm. It ended up being another rainstorm.
Since the leaves are just starting to come in, this owl is still choosing to hang out on pine trees. Another day another pine tree.
This time some birds were aware the owl was there. Some were protesting, but they still kept a safe distance. The owl positioned itself next to a stream hoping for some wildlife to stop by and get a drink.
Leaves of trees between where I stood and the tree the owl was on are filling in. It is going to be tougher to find the owl soon. Here’s hoping I find this one’s tree hole.
Have a great week and I hope you have great weather!
What do owls do before the leaves are on the trees? Hang out in pine trees or stick close to the trunk of other trees. These pictures were taken before sunset near a road. People walking by had no idea it was there.
In this picture I lightened the owl a little bit. It was lighter to begin with.This one I didn’t. You can see how it blends in somewhat.
The owl tends to hang out on the shady side of the tree. It tries to fake out other animals by pretending to sleep for a minute here and there.
On a side note I don’t know what is going on with the squirrels and the chipmunks. I am just starting to see them. I also have heard less blue jays than usual. I am seeing more hawks around, so I am wondering if they picked off a lot of small animals over the winter. Is anyone else noticing the same thing?
Once in a while stop and look up. You never know what is above you. Have a great weekend!
This tree had two visible holes, but the larger hole I did not think was large enough to host an owl that was egg sitting. After seeing an adult owl perched in the tree I realised it could. I also figured out there was another hole I could not view.
Not sure if this is a nest tree or the barred owl was just chilling. No wildlife seemed to spot this owl here so it seemed to be a good perching spot. I haven’t seen two owls together yet. I have not heard them calling to each other. It has been rather quiet this year in the woods. I am open to the belief this owl and its mate may be hanging out more on private property.
Despite that it was a cloudy morning, I was happy to spot this owl. The tell tale signs of the nearby wildlife being upset were not there. Looking at tree holes and knobs of branches helped today. Walk slow and appreciate nature.
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