From Kimberley Biederman
Just a few of my favorite captures of the Short-eared Owls in Wyondot County last month. November 2024
anon6789
joined 2 years ago
Good choice on the Barn Owl for decaf. I don't know if there's any other animal with a more asleep sleeping face!
I was worried it was one of my Woodpeckers at first. I have fewer of them. I'm still not totally sure who it was, as all that was left was most white belly fluff. I looked around his for flight feathers, but didn't see any.
It can help itself to all those dang starlings that keep cleaning out all my premium bird food! 😞
I really loved this one. Pharaoh is such a good looking owl, and the city and water look so nice, and I've never seen an owl pic including camels before!
They say it's better than one! 😅
I appreciate the sentiment. I like them both, so pay off that is accepting their roles to play.
It hasn't been around all that much, but I've seen it a few times before. I've seen it maybe twice a year. It's got about a 50% success rate to my knowledge.
I do have some coverage near the feeders and there are trees on the other side, but this one got taken out in the middle of the yard. They usually travel together and keep watch for each other, but this one took one too many risks.
She's a superb owl!
It's either education... or e-limination!
They are beautiful and marvelously built for their purpose, even though it isn't always a joyous one.
On New Year's Eve, I saw a Cooper's Hawk catch one of my blue jay friends that I've bonded with these last few years. I wanted to protect my bird friend, but it was already caught, and the hawk needs to do what hawks do, so I just had to sit there. I didn't want to scare the hawk and have the jay's sacrifice be in vain.
But it's a reminder these animals live hard lives, and we should cherish their existence while it is there, and we should protect what we can of the wild. It all needs each other to function the way it's intended. It's often beautiful, but there is a cost to everything as well.
Cooper's Hawk
Goodbye, Jay friend... 😓
I hope you keep the hawk strong and safe through the winter.
These little Saw Whets seem fairly cooperative around the camera. Great work by the photographers of all of these as well.
With its dinner
From Bucci Photography
Today's Great Grey Owl in the snow looking for breakfast, Unfortunately this owl missed its catch but was successful later on. Saskatchewan, Canada
From Deby Dixon
Absolutely loved watching this pygmy owl as it sat on the willow branches that were covered in hoar frost. Add the mountain background and this was breathtaking.
This busy owl is killing up to 5 voles a day! I'm thinking that it probably only eats about half of one at a time so I am wondering if the owl is thinking about hibernating with its stash once it gets really cold and snowy. LOL.
One of the things that has tickled me the past couple of days has been listening to people ooh and aah over the frozen, sparkly landscape. They can't get over how beautiful this is. I smile, knowingly because there are still those days when Yellowstone is so beautiful in winter, my heart aches. It aches because I can't adequately describe the beauty and don't think I can take a photo that would truly do it justice.
On another note, I watched a pack of wolves, far away, running along ridges at sky line late this afternoon. I could not believe how many elk and deer were way up high.
From Edwin Martinez
WINTER IS HERE.
Great grey owl
Alberta, Canada
The great grey owl is a true owl, and is the world's largest species of owl by length. It is distributed across the Northern Hemisphere, and it is the only species in the genus Strix found in both Eastern and Western Hemispheres.
Canon R5 + RF 100-500mm
1/100 F10 IS06400| JAN 2023
From Kevin Thurk
Northern Hawk Owl sitting on a nice frosty treetop.
From Cynthia Rand
This Screech Owl was startled from the sudden swirl of two squirrels chasing each other around a nearby tree trunk!
Snowy put all the haters to rest with a win over the Barn Owl. This frosty feathered one has taken on some of the most exciting owls from the equator we could find. It's a personal favorite that drives people to do crazy things to catch a glimpse of them. It's a real celebrity amongst owls. This owl has the energy of a winner and it's looking to out do its second place it got last year.
Many were sad GHO had to make way for the Saw Whet, but Eagle Owl is looking to pick up their endorsement in its stead. They've got a lot of the same characteristics that make them great owls. They're big with classy patterned feathers. Large talons with crushing grip strength to take care of the largest prey, having been known to (rarely) catch foxes or roe deer fawns! A potential upgrade over the GHO is the Eagle Owl has orange eyes instead of yellow.
Which of these jumbo sized owls will you send to the finals? Will we have a rematch between Snowy and the Scops? Will the Eagle Owl put the Snowy on ice? Upvote now to give us our service finalist!
#superbowl #owloftheyear2024
White Faced Scops walked into this tournament like a true champion, and none of its competition has yet to present much of a challenge. This owl just looks good. It's got the ears, it's got a prominent mustache, captivating orange eyes, and a trendy monochromatic color scheme. He's so far untouchable, but we've got a tiny owl coming in for a sneak attack!
The wee Saw Whet has been very accomplished these last two weeks. It's taken on the Barred Owl, the pescatarian Buffy Fish Owl, and it just out-greated the Great Horned Owl. This itty bitty owl has shown it's got big, big heart. It's small, it's expressive, it's got a lot of unique looks, and it's uncommon, but not as exotic to most of us as the Scops.
Will the Scops march unopposed to the finals, or has it finally met its match? Will the Saw Whet's winning streak keep going? I dunno, that's what you guys are here to tell me! Upvote your choice for the finals now!
#superbowl #owloftheyear2024
From World Bird Sanctuary
Owls, such as Uxmal the spectacled owl, have very large eyes to help with their excellent night vision.
Most owl eyes are around 5% of the bird's body weight. That might not sound like much, but human eyes are only 0.0003% of our body weight.
Owls have additional adaptations in their eyes that help make them the perfect nighttime predator. They can dilate their pupils incredibly wide to bring more light into the eyes, and they can even control how much each eye individually dilates.
Like humans, owls have cones to distinguish color and rods to detect light, however owls have significantly more rods to cones than humans. Behind an owl eye's rod-packed retina is another layer called the tapetum lucidum, which catches any light that may have passed through the retina and bounces it back to those sensitive rods.
All of these adaptations give these birds the perfect vision for hunting at night.
From Derek Deihl
The Winterberry Bared Owl, photographed in 2020 this wild bird was very photogenic providing crazy flight shots at point blank range.
Minnesota 2020
Up next is a pair of beautiful white (mostly) owls, the Snowy and the Barn.
Snowy, representing the "true owls" of family Strigidae, is coming right off a heated battle with Crested Owl that it only won with a 1 vote margin. Some have made it their mission this tournament to stop the attention seeking of Snowy and give someone else some time in the limelight. With that said, people around the world do love the Snowy and can't get enough of this beautiful bird!
Opposing the Snowy, from family Tytonidae, the Barn and Bay owls, is the eponymous Barn Owl. While some barn owls we know almost nothing about, the Tyto alba we're looking at today is one of the most studied owls, subject of many famous studies. They are found everywhere but Antarctica,and they don't do too well in extreme cold, so you can find them most anywhere, though coincidentally not in many if the same places as Snowy.
Both are tremendous owls, but we've only got one banner spot left, and one of these lovely birds has got to say goodbye. Which will it be? Upvote your favorite owl now!
#superbowl #owloftheyear2024
Both entrants today have had very solid campaigns so far. The Great Horned beat the Sooty and then had a major win against the beloved Burrowing Owl. Saw Whet got past the Barred Owl and the well liked Buffy Fish Owl. No one could deny either if these owls has a place in the final four.
Great Horned is a legend. Large and powerful with a bellowing hoot. The mightiest hunting owl of the Americas. They have a 5ft / 1.5m wingspan, and only the Snowy outweighs it. Ask someone to describe an owl to you, and they will likely describe to you the mighty Great Horned.
Saw Whet is short and sweet. It's one of the smallest owls, with a chirping call that is quite unique. Though small, its diet is more similar to an owl like the Great Horned than the diet of other small owls. The charming face belies wonderful hunting talent. It migrates to follow its opportunities for success, and that's what it's looking to do today.
Who will be your third banner owl and semi-finalist? Upvote them now!
#superbowl #owloftheyear2024
