Two nights ago a wish came true. I was hoping a short-eared owl would land on a birdhouse close to the viewing stand. It was not there for long, but I got off a few of shots.
It was not ideal lighting conditions, but I will take it. It came out with clouds at the horizon during sunset. They could be leaving for Canada anytime soon.
Sometimes wishes do come true. Have a great week!
What do you think of when you hear the term “gray ghost?” For some it brings to mind the football player, Tony Canadeo, who played for the Green Bay Packers many years ago and earned his place in the Hall of Fame. Some people think automatically of of Bruce Wayne’s hero in Batman. Others think of Confederate soldier Mosby who led raids on Federal supply lines during the US Civil War and was known for his ability to appear, disappear, and blend in with locals. But did you know there is a hawk that is known as the gray ghost? The male northern harrier has that nickname.
Males have different colouring than females. All the pictures shown here are male northern harriers.
Northern harriers eat small rodents such as mice and voles. The location of these pictures appears to have many mice and voles. Amongst other things they eat small rabbits and other birds. They say many farmers like northern harriers because they eat mice that damage crops. Harriers are sometimes called “good hawks” because they pose no threat to poultry as some hawks do.
Northern harriers hunt by flying low to the ground in open areas during the daytime. I frequently see them flying in the late afternoon before the owls come up. When hunting, harriers circle an area several times listening and looking for prey. They can hover and make sharp turns. When they spot prey, they swoop down and grab the prey with their sharp claws. They will also steal prey from owls, which I have seen them try to do at the location pictured.
According to Texas Parks and Wildlife some Native American tribes believe that seeing a hawk on your wedding day is a sign of a long, happy marriage.
This bird has been ghost like and elusive to me. This is the first year I have seen it up close enough to get good shots. Maybe it was tired of the attention the owls were getting. Have a great rest of your week.
There were maybe 3-4 other cars at around 4 p.m. The others left, then I saw two owls on the far side of the field come up and do short flights spaced.
Later, as cars started to arrive, one flew and landed on one post and stayed for a long time. The post was far out, so no pictures here. However, when it flew, (as its audience was growing again) it flew back and forth over the trail and landed on various posts on both sides.
By my count it landed on four different posts, at least one of them multiple times.
It flew rather close to the parking lot and the trail.
Despite the cloudy, overcast sky they came out before sunset and at least one of them gave us quite a show. Anything is possible even on a cloudy, dreary day.
After several days of either heavy rains or strong winds it was much calmer weather today. One owl was nice enough to come out before sunset. I believe others came up later.
Last night they came out after sunset so the images were very grainy. I was happy one came out earlier tonight. Enjoy your week!
You never know if a day will be good or bad. You never know if you will be standing in the right area. You never know for sure the light will be good. The light was good before sunset and I was really hoping they would come to the area I parked myself to watch the short-eared owls..
I saw two short eared owls far away in front of me. Then one flew towards where the viewing platform was. It seemed to be lingering so I walked over. It was on a post, but all pictures I took it had its back to me. Finally it flew off the post and flew closer to me. Only the first few shots after it flew from the post were in focus. Maybe I would have better results if I took the zoom down from 600 to 200- 300. I switched from a lower shutter speed to a higher one quick without looking. I figured out later it was too high -1/4,000.
Maybe I can account for that higher than desired ISO when I eventually get a program to remove noise. It was nice to see them in this light, if but only for a couple of minutes. Have a great weekend and get out and enjoy nature!
Little stinkers. They waited until any good light left to come out. One landed on this pole near the trail. I do not have a denoise program. Only an old version of Elements. Obviously I do not know what I am doing. I hope someday to take a course in photoshop or get a denoise program.
Regardless, I was happy to see them again. I just wish they would come up in good light. Have a great Wednesday!
The meadowlark is said to be in my area all year long. It is the first time I have captured one on camera. I was on a low level as compared to it. I have heard meadowlarks calling before in grass land areas, but fail to spot one. This one landed on the railing of a viewing platform.
Have a great week! Here’s hoping you have some sunny days!
After stopping by after work yesterday and not seeing any owls, there was already short-eared owls out and about when I arrived in the parking lot at around 5 p.m. today. Evidently they were out around 4:00 or prior to that busily hunting .
I could see the owl in the tree from the parking lot, but I like moving along. The owl stayed in the tree for a while.
Right after I started walking up the trail I saw one owl very close to the trail. Unfortunately I was not prepared and had my camera set around 1/500 or a second. The above photo has blurred wings but otherwise not too bad.
The above was also taken at 1/500 of a second.
It was getting too dark shortly after this photo above. There are two other kinds of owls at this location. A great horned owl had a lot to say tonight. We can’t get close to them at this location.
I believe at one point there were 4 short eared owls flying around in this one area of the trail. There were only 3-4 people photographing in this area. After yesterday I was thinking they may have left for Canada, but they are still here. This made my day. Have a great weekend!
I stopped in this location after work to see if I could catch some action. It was not too windy, although there was some clouds in the sky and not the greatest light. We did see them fly closer to us where we are allowed to stand.
The above photo is lightened a bit. It is hard to capture them when they come out. The grass is tall as this location, taller than me actually, and did not have a deep enough snowfall to force it down. Therefore, the grass interferes with focus. Not bad though for a dark evening. Have a great weekend.
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