Superbowl
- Conveyed Motion
Photo by Mike Lentz
>I had spent so much time with this particular Snowy Owl that I was able to get a little bit creative and start doing/attempting pan blur photography once this Owl decided to take flight. > >I set my camera to manual mode at 1/60 second shutter speed and panned along with the bird as it flew by with the hope of getting a sharp eye and blurred wings. > >By following this technique, you can create dynamic images that convey a sense of motion and speed.
- Owl News: Mexican Spotted Owls Benefit from Low Severity Fires (in the forest, not on themselves!)
From Wildlife.org
>Massive wildfires are harmful to the birds, but low-severity fires benefit their habitats > >Massive wildfires are harmful to Mexican spotted owls, but frequent, low-severity fires benefit them, researchers found. The finding suggests that returning the historical fire regime to the landscape can benefit the owls while reducing the risk of catastrophic fires. > >“We have very little hard data showing us how Mexican spotted owls respond to fire, which is a need-to-know piece of information for managers in the Southwest,” said Gavin Jones, a research ecologist with the Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station and the lead author of the study published in Fire Ecology. > >The Mexican spotted owl (Strix occidentalis lucida) is a threatened species that inhabits forests and canyonlands in the southwestern United States. These owls often live in forests that are at high risk of stand-replacing fire. Yet conservationists have been concerned that efforts to reduce wildlife risk—like thinning or prescribed fire—could alter the forest characteristics the owls depend on for their survival. > >Jones and his co-authors collected and analyzed eight years of monitoring data from Mexican spotted owl breeding pairs. They found owl pairs occupied sites at higher rates when these sites experienced more frequent fires in the previous three decades. > >In contrast, they found owl pairs persisted at lower rates at sites that experienced more extensive, high-severity fire. > >The research suggests that management activities intended to reduce megafire risk—like prescribed burning and mechanical thinning— will likely promote both Mexican spotted owl conservation and more resilient forest landscapes. > >“Mexican spotted owls appear to be well-adapted to historical frequent-fire regimes,” Jones said. “If we can get that type of fire back on the landscape, it should bode well for the species and its recovery.”
- Weird Alice's Weird Molt
From The Raptor Trust
>Eastern Screech Owls often go through a 'catastrophic molt" which means that they shed all their feathers at once. Molting helps birds like Weird Alice shed feather parasites, grow in a new 'do, and get ready for migration, if that's what their species does. Weird Alice will look a little silly for a while, but when her feathers grow back she will be her normal beautiful self.
I'm going back here in 2 weeks, so I hope to get to see her looking extra weird!
- Cool Shades
Photo by Ryan Humphrey
A young Long Eared Owl showing off its third eyelids. These are called nictitating membranes. They add extra protection to the eyes from physical damage and keep them most during flight.
- Some Pel's Fishing Owls
Photos from Limpokwena Nature Reserve (Facebook)
>King of the African Waterways: The Pel's Fishing Owl > >Here at Limpokwena, we're lucky to have two resident breeding pairs of these fascinating and rare birds. Come and view their nesting sites in person now during their nesting season. > >Reigning supreme along African rivers and lakes, the Pel's fishing owl is no ordinary predator! Found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, this giant owl boasts a wingspan of a whopping 1.8 meters (almost 6 feet). Despite their size, they're stealthy hunters with incredible hearing, able to hear a fish splash from miles away! > >Listen closely at night, and you might just hear their booming calls.
- Barn Owls
Well, they are owls in a barn, just not Barn Owls.
They are very Great Horned Owls.
Photos by Matthew Kirby (Facebook)
- Do I Have To???
Photos shared by Owl Pages (Facebook)
This young Dusky Eagle Owl does not look be enthused for picture day.
- Strange Crossover
Found this random little owl while looking for new content.
I do believe this is another Saw Whet.
It's from one of those weird feeds that's full of random questionable things, but you all like the owls in towels so I'll make an exception for unverified content.
I also noticed it had a very unusual set of tags. I'm not sure what type of audience they are going for here... Facebook feeds can be very strange.
- Eurasian Scops Owl
Photo from Zoran Vidrih (Facebook)
>Our only owl that spends it's winters in Africa. The Eurasian scops owl (Otus scops) Slovenia, April 2024
- A Photogenic Trio, Plus One
Photos by Dan Minicucci (Facebook)
>This trio of young barreds continue to be very photogenic and one venturing out to hunt on the forest floor.
- Red Card
From A Place Called Hope (Facebook)
>Just give a hoot and take down the soccer nets when not in use... > >This Great Horned Owl is lucky he was found, rescued, and not broken from his ordeal. He is suffering from some soft tissue injuries but should make a full recovery. > >A special thanks to Dr Brenton from the Country Companions Veterinary Hospital in Bethany who rescued him. She will be pleased to help with his release when he is ready to go home. Hopefully the net will no longer be in his territory. > >We need to do better.. for all of our wildlife. Simple safety checks in our own backyards really makes a difference.
- Sweet Siblings
Photo by Mike Lentz (Facebook)
>Sibling cuddle bugs! These two sibling recently fledged Northern Saw Whet owls certainly gave us a show. In between naps, they would nip and groom each other as well. When they groom each others feathers, this is called "allopreeing". This is also a behavior that may come in handy during the breeding season. :) These Owls know how to keep their plumage in tip top shape!
- Pearl-Spotted Owlet
Photo by Hannu Sievänen (Facebook)
>Pearl-spotted owlet (Glaucidium perlatum) from Botswana. The pearl-spotted owlet occurs in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly widespread across savanna in southern Africa, across north and central Namibia, south to southern limit of arid bushveld and woodland in south Namibia. Their occurrence continues further north through Botswana and Zimbabwe up to Sudan and west to Senegal.
- A Couple of Knotheads
Photo by Cynthia Rand [Facebook]
>I was determined to find a Screech Owl nest this spring, after finding several last year. > >To set the stage, a small group of photographers were doing their best to keep track of some mating Screech Owls that were bouncing between tree cavities this spring. > >But after several weeks the owls went silent and seemed to disappear. But couldn't stop thinking about those Owls, they had to be around because they had been mating in the area. So I stopped by whenever I had free time. And very early one morning I heard the beautiful sound of a baby owl! > >But the call stopped as quickly as it started. I looked around for an hour but couldn't find the source. I went back that night, and together with a photographer friend we found where the call was coming from! It was a baby Screech stll in a nest cavity! As we began photographing it in the dark a second one popped up beside the first! > >We told the small group who been tracking the owls earlier that spring about the nest and together we got to photograph the babies. But not for long, they were ready to fledge! And they did, starting the next day. They left the nest one day apart from each other. We found the nest just in time! This was a case of teamwork at its finest!
- 24/7 Saw Whet
Photo by Ryan Humphrey [Facebook]
Saw Whet Owlets are probably the most fun and animated baby owls I've ever watched. Took them months to stop the major head bobbing and body dances. It could be early morning, mid afternoon, or evening, and they would be moving around, preening, stretching, head bobbing, and doing the twist. These babies do not sleep all day long as many Adult Saw Whets do. They would snooze for an hour or so and then become alert again.
- Funny Hooting Faces
Photos by Scott Winkler [Facebook]
>I finally got around to processing the pictures of the Great Horned Owl that took in West Chester, OH on 6/13/24. I have not seen him since that day! I loved the different profiles he gave me showing his personality!!
- The Best Intentions
From Skywatch Bird Rescue [Facebook]
>Guess who? We have another feathered face to introduce you to! This fledgling Eastern Screech Owl has a sad story, but a happier ending. > >This owl was found on the ground as a nestling by a member of the public, causing them to worry that he was injured or orphaned. While the finder was well-meaning and wanted to help, rather than calling us or another facility for advice, they decided to try to raise him at home for several weeks. They then brought him to us, assuring us that he was "almost ready for release" which, unfortunately, he was far from. As soon as we examined him, we noticed that he had no fear of humans and was heavily imprinted on them, immediately trying to preen and perch on us. > >While this owl is physically normal aside from needing some nutritional corrections, this mental "affliction" deems him non-releasable and stripped him of his freedom to live the wild life he deserves. He never learned how to communicate with his species, or how his species hunts or evades predators. He never learned what different prey looks like and was initially scared of the food we offered. He instead thinks that he is a human. > >Please, if you ever find a baby bird that you believe is orphaned, call us or your closest licensed facility right away first to easily avoid a similar mistake. While hundreds of baby birds need help each year, thousands do not. We can talk you through your specific situation and alleviate your concerns. It is not only illegal to try to raise a wild bird at home, but it is unethical to put our own emotions or attachments to a bird over what is in their best interest. This owl is incredibly lucky that he does not have any physical deformities, as the majority of finder-raised birds do not develop properly, and do not survive to adulthood.
- Brown Hawk Owl
Photo by Suvro Dey [Facebook]
I don't know if we've featured this owl before. Also known as the Brown Boobook. This owl reaches from India to China and Indonesia.
From Owl Pages:
>The Brown Hawk Owl feeds mainly on large insects such as beetles and grasshoppers, but also frogs, lizards, small birds, mice and occasionally small insectivorous bats or crabs. They hunt at dusk using a perch on a tree stump or post to look for prey. They have been observed jumping up to take a passing insect in the claws, and hawking insects in the air like a nightjar.
- Long Eared Owl Banding
From the Owl Research Institute
>The summer of banding continues! Long-eared owl chicks are banded either just before they leave the nest or just after, when they can still be found on branches near the nest area. Parents are still feeding the chicks at this age and will continue to do so until the fledglings are able to consistently hunt for themselves. The bands on each young owl will identify them and which nest they came from, so that if they are ever found again we will know how far they have dispersed! We hope to find some of these owls again over the winter. > >All banding, marking and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the US Geological Survey's BBL.
- Feeding the Baby
From Bat Rehabilitation Ireland Facebook
Video at the link
>The youngest of the barn owls we currently have in care. > >This little one was very weak on arrival from Kilkenny. He was underweight and suffering from subcutaneous emphysema. This is when air is trapped under the skin and was most likely the result of trauma caused by one of his siblings in the nest as small puncture wounds were visible. > >The air was removed and he is receiving a course of antibiotics. The poor thing is not out of the woods yet but is still strong enough to give a nasty injury with his talons so the blanket is to keep him from doing just that. > >Thank you so much to the finder for contacting The Barn Owl Project and to Saoirse Deely and Josh for collecting him and getting him to us.
- Lawsuit Pending
Photo by Harold Wilion
>You Just Keep Me Hanging On > >After already falling to the ground once and making his way back up into a tree, this little barred owl executes a slip and fall, and as he was fluttering to the ground, was able to catch himself on a thin branch. At first, since he knew he was being photographed, I thought it was just a ploy to initiate a lawsuit against the tree and would hire that attorney that's always advertising on TV. He struggled a bit and was not able to right himself, but he let go and fluttered to a lower branch where he caught himself. That's how they learn, and by the next day was capable of making short flights with fewer mistakes. It's so much fun to watch all young animals develop and one of my favorite aspects of photography, because I know without a camera, I doubt I would be spending the hours I do watching nature's wonders like this.
- Adventures in Owl-gorithms (Bad AI Art)
Featured: Bowie Labyrinth Owl
Came upon some egregious AI owls this week. Most of you enjoyed these previously.
They annoy me because they get mixed in with some potentially good content, but it shows me the feeds don't check what content they put their name on.
The worst is when they title it "Amazing photograph!" or something that attempts to legitimize it.
Which is the best of the worst this week?
- Sad Update on one of the RaptorCAM Owls
I've sat on this news for a while, but anyone who watched them get born and grow up deserves to see the end of their story.
One of the baby owls has been found to have died from poisoning. As with Flaco, the likely cause is eating poisoned rodents. This is an all too common end for birds of prey, as the poisoned rodents are easy to catch.
Part of my hoped id never hear about the owl babies again after they left the nest, mainly because I knew this would be the type of news it would be. Half of birds don't live to their first birthday. I hope that means the sibling will be safe then.
Whichever baby HH is gone, it was still a joy watching you fledge, and to the other HH, I wish you the best of luck.
Post and Courier 06 JUL 2024
>Aside from fleeting glimpses, most of the goings-on in the lives of wild creatures take place out of view of human eyes. > >That’s what made the December appearance of a pair of great horned owls in a particular nest on Hilton Head special. That nest happened to have a Raptor CAM trained on it, continuously streaming all of the nest’s activity to anyone with an internet connection. Put in place by the Hilton Head Island Land Trust, the live feed held people from all around the world in rapt attention. > >Against the odds, the pair delivered two eggs in the first days of the new year. The parents meticulously cared for the eggs during the roughly month-long incubation period, and two owlets hatched in early February. Both appeared healthy, much to the relief of the legion of online viewers. Two months later, the owlets leapt off a branch and flew for the first time. All were hopeful as the owlets survived each milestone in their young and hazard-filled lives. > >Sometime around mid May one of those hazards caught up. It’s believed that one of the young pair is now dead. > >Robin Storey, board member with the land trust, said the carcass of a juvenile female great horned owl was discovered in the vicinity of the nest where the pair, identified as HH5 and HH6, hatched. The hatchlings were not banded, so there’s no way to be sure the dead owl is from that nest. But there are several clues that lead to the conclusion, Storey said. > >Great horned owls are non-migratory, and while the owl families abandon their nest after the young owls are able to fly, they do stay in the area. The age of the dead bird was another indicator, as were audio and visual clues. > >“Everyday I listen to the owls on our Raptor CAM,” Storey said. “I can tell we’re down to only one by listening to the calls. We’re only hearing one owl call. People on the ground say they’re only seeing three (owls). There’s good support that it’s probably one of our owls.” > >The owl carcass was taken to the Center for Birds of Prey in Awendaw, where the staff suspected the bird died as the result of ingesting poison. They sent samples to Texas A&M for a more detailed analysis. > >“They wanted Texas A&M to get down to the exact chemicals found in the bird,” Storey said, adding that the testing took several months to complete. > >The analysis revealed the presence of three different rodenticides, which likely caused the bird’s death. It is suspected the owl consumed rodents that had ingested the poison. > >“This is a slow, painful death. It takes days,” Storey said. > >Jim Elliott, executive director with the Center for Birds of Prey and Avian Conservation Center, estimated that 50 to 60 great horned are impacted by the rodenticides every year in the center’s service area, which includes South Carolina, Georgia and North Carolina. > >Owls are not the only species susceptible to rodenticides. The population of bobcats on Kiawah Island, for example, has been threatened in recent years by the newest iteration of rat poison called second-generation anticoagulants, which are more lethal and faster acting than earlier iterations. Storey said that extremely high levels of both first- and second-generation anticoagulants were discovered in the dead owl from Hilton Head. > >It’s unknown what fate awaits the sibling owl, or the parents. > >“It’s a high risk. They could succumb to the same outcome,” Storey said.
- Barred vs Branch
Photo by Harold Wilion [Facebook]
>Owls can do the strangest things to entertain themselves. This one here was working on trying to break a piece of wood off the branch, for quite a while. I can't believe how determined he was once he set his mind to the task and put everything he had into it, including some wing action. I think he finally had to give up as he just didn't have enough strength.
- Young Owl Rescued From RivCo Barn Fire Is set Free
Story and photos from Patch 11 JUL 2024
EASTVALE, CA — Riverside County firefighters who rescued an owl from a burning barn in April got to set the young owl free this week after weeks of rehabilitation.
The barn owl, dubbed Archimedes after the ancient Greek mathematician, was released into the same area in Eastvale where firefighters first found him, according to Cal Fire.
"He's all better now, and our firefighters were able to re-release him yesterday evening in the same area he was rescued in! We love a happy ending," the fire department posted on X Thursday.
Firefighters rescued Archimedes from a burning barn in Eastvale in the 8500 block of Hellman Avenue on the morning of April 23. The 5,000-square-foot barn was vacant, save for the owl firefighters discovered inside.
Firefighters wrapped a blanket around the owl to rescue it as they awaited Riverside County Animal Services' arrival.
nimal Services field workers evaluated the owl and took custody of the creature.
"The owl is a hatchling," according to Animal Services spokesperson Arianne Murphy.
The mother was not found, and the young barn owl was evaluated and deemed not injured, so field workers transferred the raptor to a partner wildlife rehabilitation center.
"They will care for the young owl until it is old enough to be released back into the wild," Murphy said in April.
This is not the first barn owl to be rescued by firefighters in Southern California.
In October 2020, the Orange County Fire Authority rescued a badly burned owl during the Silverado Fire. Nicknamed Smokey, that owl has been in recovery for four years after its wings were severely burned.
After spending a year at the Serrano Animal and Bird Hospital, Smokey was transferred to the Orange County Bird of Prey Center for further rehabilitation until his new flight feathers and wings could accommodate flight.
According to OC Bird of Prey Center Executive Director Dr. Peggy Chase, "This is why we do what we do. Smokey the owl would have undoubtedly died and suffered greatly had they not rescued him that day."
- Grip Strength
LEO balancing perfectly on the tip of a branch with its amazing grip strength. Talons grip when the legs are relaxed, so it's effortless for the owl.
Photo by Neil Brailsford
>Hiding in trees or bushes with camo clothing certainly pays off sometimes, especially when this long eared owl decides it wants to fly in and land on a low stick very close to me. He was none the wiser I was watching and getting these shots, silent camera with only an increased heart rate noise that could give me away, luckily it didn't !
- Buffy Fish Owl
Photos by Andrew Hunt
> The best thing about photographing the Buffy Fish Owl is that even though they may enjoy perching for a few hours, they do give you a myriad of expressions - Hampstead Wetlands Park, Singapore
- Happy Family
Photos by Heather Farrell
>I feel like I won the lottery. My kind of lottery any way. After all of these years I've been able to find a whole family of barred owls on my own in an area not too far away in a wonderful neighborhood of sweet people who don't mind me hanging around. > >The junior bird nerds named Chocolate Chip a few nights ago and said if I found the others their names are Ninja and Hoot. I think we need one more name!
