The photos were taken with a flash at night, using my car as a blind.
Click the image to see it larger. [More Owls here...]
It is great to have friends who help me find birds and wildlife to photograph. Thanks to Dave and Denise for helping me find these three Eastern Screech Owls nesting in a Wood Duck house on the side of a tree. It was after dark when they finally popped their heads out. At first only two and then a third, waiting for their supper to arrive with one of the adults. We could hear the adult calling way off in the distance and then he/she finally flew in and attempted to fly in to the box but there were three faces blocking the entrance. We decided to leave at that point to not bother the birds while they were feeding. The photos were taken with a flash at night, using my car as a blind. Click the image to see it larger. [More Owls here...]
2 Comments
I gave in. I finally decided to post some pictures on Facebook also. Go to my Facebook page then click the Like or Follow button and you can stay updated on some of my photo adventures. Of course you will need to log in to Facebook to see them. -
https://www.facebook.com/brucegmckeephotos Sunday I went to the Sax-Zim Bog area Northwest of Duluth, Minnesota to look for Great Gray Owls, Snowy Owls, Northern Hawk Owls and anything else that we might find with a foot of new snow on the ground. We found the Great Gray Owl perched high in a tree before sunrise in the twilight. It was on Admiral Road just north of the bird feeders. We got a few shots from the car until it flew a short distance away, and then we were able to get a few shots outside of the car just after sunrise until it disappeared in to the woods. We also found a Snowy Owl on Zim Road and Greenfield, but it was high in a tree and we did not get any good photos. We never found the Northern Hawk Owl. Very disappointing. If you want to learn more about the Sax-Zim Bog area search on Google or Facebook. There are at least two Facebook sites dedicated to the bog and several web sites with maps and more info. We met people from all over the country who where there to look for birds. If you happen to find a Great Gray Owl locally let me know. I'd love to get some more photos of this majestic bird. There are more Great Gray Owl photos here - click to view. The Northern Saw-whet Owl is one of my favorite (of course all Owls rank pretty high among my favorite birds). I have previously taken pictures of a Saw-whet in captivity at the International Festival of Owls, but this weekend I got to photograph this one in the wild. Renowned nature photographer Don Poggensee from Ida Grove helped a small group of birders find a Saw-whet and a Long-eared Owl in Moorehead Park near Ida Grove. It was a cold morning, barely above zero, but we ventured out with cameras and with Don's great scouting skills we walked right to the pine tree where he was roosting just above eye-level. To my surprise, the owl seemed to have no fear of the visitors. We were able to slowly walk right up to the tree, take turns taking pictures and even to gently move some branches to get a better shot. The little owl just sat patiently while we took our pictures. A short distance away Don also located a Long-eared Owl, high in a small grove of pine trees, another first for me. It was difficult to get a clear shot because of all of the small branches and needles in the way, but I did get at least one photo where I could see both eyes. It was a great day. Click the images to see a larger view. View more Owls here... Barred Owl Sunday I went for a drive. I wanted to check on an Eagles nest a bit north of here, and I knew the light would be the best in the morning. I was pleased to find at least two Eaglets in the nest. I was in the car viewing the nest in the tree, so it was a bit hard to tell, but I did see the two in the picture below. The adult male had just brought lunch and then went stand guard in a nearby tree. As I was leaving I spotted 13 Cormorants on the river. The next stop was to look for a Barred Owl that I had heard several times, but hadn't gotten a picture. After a bit of a search in the woods I did find it and he posed nicely for me. In the same vicinity I saw Hermit Thrushes, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Chickadees, Nuthatches, Mallards and three White-tailed Deer. Next, back to the back yard. The sun had come around to the deck and there was nice lighting on the birds near the feeders. Red-bellied Woodpeckers, White-Throated Sparrows, House Finches, Purple Finches, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Chickadees, Nuthatches, House Sparrows, Mourning Doves and two male Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks had just arrived. It was a busy day at the bird feeders. [You can click any of the pictures here to see a larger image.] Tonight the Lime Creek Nature Center had a program with injured raptors from the Wildlife Care Clinic at Iowa State University. I had the opportunity to take a few pictures of the birds prior to the regular program. There was an Eastern Screech Owl (gray morph), American Kestrel, Barred Owl, Red Tailed Hawk (injured with broken wing), and a Great Horned Owl (injured - missing one eye). They are all beautiful birds (despite the injuries) and in was fun to see them up close. This was a special treat for me because I have not been able to get close to a Kestrel in the wild (but I'm not done trying). I'm hoping to find a pair nesting where I might be able to get close in a blind. These were taken with the pop-up flash on the camera and a flash with a small diffuser to the right and higher than the camera providing the main lighting. Thanks to Lauren from ISU for taking time to let me take few pictures and assisting with posing the birds. I had another visit to my Eastern Screech Owl friend who lives in a Wood Duck house. I got much better photos this time. I did cheat a bit by playing a recording of a Screech Owl to get him to open his eyes. It worked. He was all eyes and ears trying to figure out where the other sound came from. He even called back to me, very quietly. [More Owl photos...]
Yes, I like Snowy Owls, and Screech Owls, and Barred Owls and, well, I just like Owls. This weekend was the International Festival of Owls in Houston, Minnesota. One of the festival events was a photo shoot on Sunday morning. An opportunity for a select group of photographers to get 10 minutes with each of four owls to take close-up pictures in a controlled environment with natural backgrounds. The owls were provided by the Illinois Raptor Center. This year there was a Snowy Owl, Eastern Screech Owl (Gray Morph), Barred Owl and Great Horned Owl. I've been searching locally for Snowy Owls all winter, and I did get a chance to photograph one on a power pole near Ames, IA. When I heard that there would be an opportunity to photograph a Snowy Owl at the Owl Festival I signed up as soon as the registration opened. Below are a couple of the owl pictures from the day. I'm sure that you will see similar poses of the same birds on many places in the Web as there were 35 other photographers taking pictures. There are more photos on the Owl page.
I went looking for Eagles this morning, but they were too far away to get a picture. I waited around for an hour and they didn't move. It is just amazing how they can perch for hours on one branch. I had gotten a tip and good directions on where to find a Screech-Owl and went to look for it. I knew it was in a Wood-Duck house, but I staked out the wrong one and waited for another hour on a +8 degree F winter morning and did not see the Owl. So I went back to Parker's woods where I was pretty sure I could find a Barred Owl. He barely cracked open his eyes in the bright mid-day sun, but was very gracious to let me take a few pictures. (See part two below) After getting the Barred Owl pictures I decided to go back for a second look for the Screech Owl and I found it this time. I had been looking in the wrong place. This was a first for me. I had never seen an Eastern Screech Owl in the red morph plumage. He poked his head out of the Wood Duck house in the bright sun and squinted at me but let me take several pictures. What fun. (Lot's more Owls under the 'Birds' menu at the top of the page.)
|
Bruce's Blog
Just a few notes about my photos and videos. See more on Facebook. and videos on YouTube Archives
March 2024
Categories
All
|
All photographs © Bruce G. McKee - May not be reproduced without written permission - All rights reserved