Tag: #Owls

Owl Door Dash

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!

After the Rain

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.

Another Day Another Tree

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!

Stealth Owl

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!

New Tree?

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.

Raptors In Captivity

I saw a sign up for a raptors show when I was on my way to visit a relative. Of course I had to stop. The program was more than halfway through, but I was able to take these photos the short time I was there. It was in the basement of a building so the light situation was not good.

Barred owl

I love barred owls. I have followed a family in the wild for three years. I always say the mother owl found me. She flew right over my shoulder one day when I was walking. I returned to that area every year she makes herself known to me. I feel lucky. Seeing one this close up is great even if the light was bad.

Barn Owl- They said this one is rare in New York. Oddly, I know someone who has seen one in their yard. Their yard borders forest and farms are nearby.

I hope to see a barn owl in the wild, but realise that may be on a to do list for an England trip.

A wild bird rescue introduced these raptors. They are not falconers. I think most if not all of the birds for one reason or another are not capable of being in the wild. They may have been hit by a car, be partially blind, etc.

Two greyish screech owls in front and one reddish one huddled in back. Never got to see much of that one.

I was lucky enough to see one of these in a tree hole in the wild. Again, it was a thrill to see them up close.

Buddies
Peregrine Falcon

I have seen peregrine falcons in the wild. They fly too fast for me to get a picture of one. I only got some of them perched on a cliff.

Your best view of these birds would be through a falconer or a rehabber who has an educational program. Take advantage of one of these programs, especially if you have kids. The children there were mesmerised.

Owlet is Catching Prey

The ongoing saga has been will the barred owlet catch prey on its own. I have witnessed it catching bugs on its own, but nothing else yet. I guess he has to start somewhere.

After the owlet caught a bug on its own, the parent came by and gave it another bug. I am wondering if these are cicadas?

After I saw the owlet catch a bug on his own, one of the parent owls came by and briefly dropped off another bug. The owlet is still making loud screeching sounds though, which will not help him trying to catch other prey such as chipmunks.

These pictures were right before sunset in the dark forest. They have a lot of noise in the photos.

Hopefully the owlet will be able to learn to not give itself away and catch prey that will keep him satisfied. Is that a cicada or beetle he is eating?

Last Owlet Standing

The last man standing is the last person to be left doing something. It appears the other two owlets are hunting on their own. You only hear this owlet screech and boy does it screech loud. The owlets seem to make that noise when they are hungry. Many times I see the parents come by after they have screeched for a time period with food. It is still relying on the parents to feed it, so it’s the last one relying on the parents a lot for food. The parents are still bringing by insects and small animals to feed it. I have been worrying it seems to be taking this one longer than the others to hunt.

The most detailed picture I think I have gotten yet. If you look above the ph in photography on the owl you will see a bug hitching a ride.
It was looking around a lot, which looks like it is interested in catching something. These owls are usually in darker areas of the woods.

It is flying tree to tree, so that is a good sign. What do you think? Is it a late bloomer that needs more time or could it have an issue?

Feeding Time

I placed another tick in a box last night. I was beginning to think I would never see an owl feed their babies. They seemed to shy away from doing that within eyesight of me. Then, last night I saw and heard them in all one areas again.

Mother perhaps with prey.

The one parent flew to the same tree as the children. I could not tell if it had someone, but someone I was with said they saw it was holding a chipmunk. If you look carefully under the branch you see dangling legs.

Parent with two of the three owlets visible.

The parent flew to another tree and the owlets followed.

Tearing up the chipmunk.

The parent then proceeded to tear out pieces of the chipmunk and feed them to the owlets.

Two were very interested and were nearby. The third was higher up.

They don’t always do this within view. Sometimes it is high up in the tree tops with leaves blocking the view. I was so happy to see this tonight. Owls are predators. It is what they do to survive.

Singing Owlets

Surprise! There are three owlets. After only hearing them for about a week, but not seeing them, I found them today. They were all together on the same branch with good views from a couple of different places nearby.

They appear to be singing.

A parent was in a neighbouring tree. They were probably begging for food. I was hoping to see a parent feed them and I knew at least one of them was hunting nearby. But once again a thunderstorm was approaching .

I am happy I at least got to see the three of them together and I hope I am lucky enough in the future to see a parent feed them. Enjoy your week!

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