I was in far northern Utah yesterday and saw the hawks I expected to see but finding this Great Horned Owl was a bit of a surprise since I wasn’t looking for Great Horned Owls.
Great Horned Owl in Box Elder County – Nikon D810, f8, 1/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited
After pointing the owl out, I started photographing her or him.
There were actually two of them but one stayed well hidden in the willow branches. While I would prefer a setting that wasn’t as busy as this one is I also like to show my subjects in their habitat and for this owl this is “home”.
Maybe next time I am in that area I will find the owl more out in the open, maybe not. I’m just glad to have seen it.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to view more of my Great Horned Owl photos plus facts and information about this species.
Hi Mia, not sure if you will remember me from NPN, but you popped up on my FB feed so I figured I would see what you’ve been up to. Glad to see you are still taking incredible photos! I always liked your work! I also always appreciated that you don’t like wildlife photographers that act like jerks in the field. Hope all is well.
Terrific photograph, Mia, of the owl in its environment! It makes me feel like I just spotted it, as opposed to seeing a portrait in a gallery (which isn’t a bad thing, either!).
(Going on 18 straight days of rain in central Florida, 12 inches for month of July. Puts a “damper” on the birding!)
That sounds like very unusual weather, which seems to be the rule these days. Yes, terrific image, and agree with E.C.’s comment too, beautiful patterns on this owl.
Beautiful. Is it just me, or does the plumage particularly on the wing look like the very softest knitting?
Nice…if that bird was sitting closer to the trunk of the tree, you might not see it at all…great camouflage!!!