Side lit Short-eared Owl Male
I liked this image of the side lit Short-eared Owl more than I thought I could.
I liked this image of the side lit Short-eared Owl more than I thought I could.
I am thoroughly enjoying photographing Burrowing and Short-eared Owls in May and satisfying my owl obsession.
This year I've seen far more Short-eared Owls in Utah than I have since I moved here in 2009 and I've been enjoying photographing these nomadic and enchanting owls for over a month.
I photographed this juvenile Burrowing Owl balancing act last year in northern Utah not long after the sun came up
Six years ago today I photographed my first Short-eared Owl in low light at Bear River MBR and it was the day my obsession and fascination with these beautiful owls began.
This image shows a Short-eared Owl nictitating membrane that is partially exposed. The dark line near the center of the eye is the edge of the nictitating membrane.
Yesterday it was the northern Utah Short-eared Owls that made me so very glad that I am a bird photographer and that for a little while I am part of their world.
It has been a while since I photographed this Short-eared Owl in Tooele County at the James W. Fitzgerald WMA
I went looking for a Snowy Owl and got Barn Owls in flight instead at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
I am always grateful to see Barn Owls in winter and to be able to photograph them in sweet light is a delight.
I spent about 15 minutes with this Barn Owl yesterday after I spotted it along the north side of the auto tour loop at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
It was the first of the winter Burrowing Owls I was to find yesterday while on Antelope Island State Park.
Among those spring migrants that I most look forward to seeing are the Western Burrowing Owls.
On January 1st I spotted this resting Barn Owl on some hay bales not too far from the juvenile Red-tailed Hawk at the hot spring.
This Barn Owl seems to be flying straight into the New Year and that is what I am doing. Spreading my wings and facing what comes at me head on.
I don't know how many hours I have spent in the field photographing birds and wildlife this year but I know that every moment has been special and I treasure that.
The theme of my photo adventure yesterday seemed to be Barn Owls and spinning ice circles at Bear River MBR.
This post is about how I took photos of a lifer Long-eared Owl on Christmas Day at Farmington Bay WMA in a snow storm.
When I can be close enough to see into the eyes of a fledgling Great Horned Owl and take a portrait of it I feel honored and enchanted.
Almost three years ago I photographed this adult Great Horned Owl in a blizzard near the entrance to Antelope Island State Park.
I wanted to let all of my viewers know that yesterday the Barn Owl I helped rescue on September 9th in the Centennial Valley was released at the Lower Lake of Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.
Yesterday morning I saw a sight that made me ill to see and that is a Barn Owl hung up on a barb wire fence on the south side of the Centennial Valley.
I spent about three months in 2008 watching a Great Horned Owl nest on Honeymoon Island State Park in Florida from hatching until this young owl fledged.
The young Burrowing Owls I have been following and photographing are growing up but many of them still stay close to the burrows they hatched in.
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.
You might wonder why I think it is tough being a bird photographer when it comes to Burrowing Owls.
It has been a few years since I have seen Short-eared Owls with any regularity and I really miss seeing these beautiful owls.
I think I could photograph juvenile Burrowing Owls for two months straight and not get bored with them.
Leopards don't change their spots but juvenile Burrowing Owls do change their spots on their chests as they mature.
Burrowing Owls and American Robins are about the same size but they are two very different species of birds.