A first for me - a Short Eared Owl - on Skagit Flats. We were able to pull up quite close to the owl as it sat on a small post and for several minutes watched it as it searched the area.
The sun angle was perfect for catching the tail feathers.
Owls with yellow eyes hunt during the day, those with orange eyes hunt in the dusk or dawn and owls with dark eyes hunt at night.
As we watched the owl, fascinated in how calm it was since it was so close to the road, the man in the car in front of us leapt from his car and swung his gigantic camera around and frightened the owl away - such bad bird watching manners. You could hear the groans from the cars around us and the little owl flitted off.
Fortunately I had gotten a lot of pictures, and it was especially nice that the sun was lighting up the feathers. We've been watching for some time for these owls and finally were lucky enough to see one.
16 comments:
He obviously wasn't a dedicated bird watcher like us - that was a very mean thing to do and I hope he never gets a good photo of anything ever again!!!
That's a sweet owl - they really have beautiful feathers - and I had no idea that their eye color denotes the time of day they go on the hunt. Hope he found a tasty meal.
Hugs - Mary
Owls are such magnificent and dignified birds. Great photos!
Very nice photography work! It is too bad that the gentleman in front of you had to get out of his car and spook this handsome yellow eyed fellow off of his perch. I did not know that the eye color indicated what kind of hunter the owl is. We had hawks that circled over our yard looking for their dinner at the old house. I think that there was only one occasion that I lucky enough to see an owl in the trees behind our lot.
Hugs..... Candy
Hello,
I love owls, your photos are wonderful. Great sighting of the owl!
Enjoy your day, wishing you a happy new week!
Your photos of the Short Eared Owl are amazing, JoANN. The photo with the sun glistening through the feathers is beautiful. How disappointing to have people who have no 'bird manners'. How wonderful that you were to capture this gorgeous creature.
How wonderful! We encountered an owl awhile back, an early morning on our way to dropping my kid to Kindergarten. Was so surprised of how calm it was while we stared at it in amazement. Didn't know some owls hunt in the day time, thanks for sharing that info!
That face is so charming! I love your photos, especially the light.
That really is amazing! I would LOVE to see one! Enjoy your day my friend! Hugs!
JoAnn - I adore owls, and so I am ecstatic to see these photos. And I didn't know that information about the color of eyes and hunting preferences - thanks! As for the photographer that scared it off - can you believe some people? Sigh. I hope you have a great week!
Even here in Japan, there are avid birders, eager to get pictures with little thought of other birders. Sometimes birders will not share locations because they do not wand an onslaught if rude birders to mess up their plans. Nice shots of the owl.
Great photos! We live in the suburbs and I heard my first owl hoot one night last month. Interesting that "your" owl was out and about during day time.
I really like owls. We don't get many in our area or let me say we don't "see" many owls in our area but on quiet nights we may hear a hoot or two ...
If you can go back to that area late of the evening...they used to come out to our strip pit area and late evening was wonderful viewing. Loved seeing these...brought back nice memories of when they used to be here. All of a sudden they stopped comeing...have not seen a single one in 4 or 5 years..I think. I would have to look back at my blogs to see when I last posted one.
It is a sad fact that some photographers, in their quest for the "perfect" shot, show no consideration for either the bird or their fellow observers. I am glad that you got to enjoy the bird before it left.
Owls are amazing!
Was crossing the skagit flats yesterday back from edison about 4pm..witnessed a small dark headed lite colored owl flying low over the fields..maybe it was a short eared owl..? lovely
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