wildlife – Page 4 – Sharon's Iconic Travel Photography Blog

Short-Eared Owls at Sunset

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!

Short-Eared Owls Out and About

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!

More American Coot

Would the American Coot still be here on Christmas? Yes, it was. Before heading out Christmas morning I stopped by the river to feed some ducks and the lone American Coot was still there.

This time it fuly came out of the water to where the corn was. He was actually one of the first to come up on land. I actually got a better view of the coot’s legs than during the summer. They are still greenish and very lizard looking.

More American Coot- Heading towards the corn.

He has come close to shore many times, but this is the first time I have seen him go after the corn I leave out. I am guessing this means there is less for it to eat in the water. I am surprised this bird is hanging around.

I hope you had a Merry Christmas and have a healthy New Year!

Self Isolating in the Wild: Do Hawks eat Eagles?

Do birds eat other birds? Would a hawk eat an eagle? I know birds will eat other birds. I am still not sure I know the answer to the second question.

Mother eagle was sitting in the next with the young baby eagle (maybe a week or two after it hatched). Along came a hawk circling over head then proceeded to buzz around the nest. As he got near the nest the mother eagle started loudly screeching.

The hawk is doing a fly over. The mother eagle’s white head is just visible a tad in the bottom center of this photo near the tree trunk. The eagle’s nest is at the bottom center of the photo.

Arriving quickly was the father eagle. Father eagle chased the hawk away then proceeded to sit on a neighboring tree. After a while, the hawk returned and the father eagle chased him away again. Father eagle hung out for a while for good measure, then flew away.

Father eagle chasing the hawk away from the nest.

I have seen videos online of eagles defending the nest. One shows an eagle killing and eating a hawk that attacked. Eagles and hawks it seems are natural enemies. Will an hawk eat a baby eagle? Will it just try to kill it? Do you know the answer?

A Lake Eagle

Do you like finding new places to watch wildlife? I found another eagle nest recently. It is on a lake in New York north of New York City. It is close to a highway, a major commuting route for those traveling by car into New York City. I am trying to figure out a way to get closer to the nest. It is on a peninsula that juts out into the lake. These two pictures are taken from the highway quite a distance away without a tripod. I also cropped the photos quite a bit. Hopefully in the future I can get closer.