Its owl season
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Well, I tapatalked from Ridgefield.
What I remember most about them is just how protective they are of the nest. The whole "My wing is broken!" routine is fun to watch, especially if you pretend to ignore them. They run away, squawking and faking the broken wing. Then, suddenly, if you're not noticing, they return to normal (Hey, I thought your wing was broken?) run back towards you, looking perfectly normal, then start the "I've got a busted wing" routine again. Apparently you're not supposed to wonder why the wing is only broken when the bird is heading away from you, LOL! Oh, and if you do follow them, they lure you a ways from the nest, and then suddenly the wing is fine and they remember how to fly.
Even more impressive is to watch them sit on the nest. There was one just outside the window of my office, so I essentially sat in a blind and watched them 8 hours a day. Those birds sat on that nest no matter what. Late season snow? No problem! Driving rain so severe there was water running past her nest like a small stream. No big deal, tuck my head under my wing and carry on... Amazing stuff. Then the babies finally hatched and just moments later they're up and running, little "mini-mes" of the adults. Too bad I didn't have a digital camera back then. (Nobody did, it was the late 80's)
Keep on it Bill. Those eggs will hatch soon, if not already. When they do, you will have 24/7 activity, almost non-stop. You may get multiple adults possibly from different generations helping with the feeding. You'll probably see several food drops through out each day, all the way through fledging. If I were you Bill, I would be all over that! What's really nice is you have the time to do it!
Here's a photo from my neck of the woods from yesterday
I'll be sure to wear my motorcycle helmet. I have heard stories of barred owl parents attacking people who get too close to the owlets. My friend who films owls got strafed by one that drew blood from the back of his head.
That's what telephotos are for.
I say that with a smile on my face and I know you are ethical. Just this last weekend I saw a group of people directly under the nest shouting, clapping, whistling to get owl to pop its head out of the nest site. So I walked away came back after they got bored with the whole thing and caught my guys, relieved they can go about their business. I would not be surprised if next year they go somewhere else.
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Well, I tapatalked from Ridgefield.
My old office had Killdeers in the gravel parking lot. They like beaches etc, and apparently the wide expanse of gravel was close enough.
The crew and I were attacked by one of them. We were transferring stuff from one trailer to another. First they were doing the "Hey, look, I've got a broken wing!" routine. Interesting, but we'd seen it before, and besides, we had work to do. OK, so a few minutes later we're being buzzed and dive bombed. I'm talking flying right at our heads. Kind of funny to see something this small taken on guys who swing hammers all day for a living, but they were. Obviously we were close to a nest.
After we finished, I did some careful searching and found the nest that they were bravely defending. The tiny eggs blended in extremely well, and we were walking a couple of feet from them, without realizing it. We coned off the area, and a few weeks later the chicks hatched out, fully feathered and up and running the first day. No bald and helpless chicks for these guys. They hatch out in pretty good shape. They can't fly, but they can walk and have feathers already.
The crew and I were attacked by one of them. We were transferring stuff from one trailer to another. First they were doing the "Hey, look, I've got a broken wing!" routine. Interesting, but we'd seen it before, and besides, we had work to do. OK, so a few minutes later we're being buzzed and dive bombed. I'm talking flying right at our heads. Kind of funny to see something this small taken on guys who swing hammers all day for a living, but they were. Obviously we were close to a nest.
After we finished, I did some careful searching and found the nest that they were bravely defending. The tiny eggs blended in extremely well, and we were walking a couple of feet from them, without realizing it. We coned off the area, and a few weeks later the chicks hatched out, fully feathered and up and running the first day. No bald and helpless chicks for these guys. They hatch out in pretty good shape. They can't fly, but they can walk and have feathers already.
What I remember most about them is just how protective they are of the nest. The whole "My wing is broken!" routine is fun to watch, especially if you pretend to ignore them. They run away, squawking and faking the broken wing. Then, suddenly, if you're not noticing, they return to normal (Hey, I thought your wing was broken?) run back towards you, looking perfectly normal, then start the "I've got a busted wing" routine again. Apparently you're not supposed to wonder why the wing is only broken when the bird is heading away from you, LOL! Oh, and if you do follow them, they lure you a ways from the nest, and then suddenly the wing is fine and they remember how to fly.
Even more impressive is to watch them sit on the nest. There was one just outside the window of my office, so I essentially sat in a blind and watched them 8 hours a day. Those birds sat on that nest no matter what. Late season snow? No problem! Driving rain so severe there was water running past her nest like a small stream. No big deal, tuck my head under my wing and carry on... Amazing stuff. Then the babies finally hatched and just moments later they're up and running, little "mini-mes" of the adults. Too bad I didn't have a digital camera back then. (Nobody did, it was the late 80's)
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One way to find an owl.
http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_c3#/video/us/2013/02/11/dnt-owl-trapped-in-suv.wsvn
http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_c3#/video/us/2013/02/11/dnt-owl-trapped-in-suv.wsvn
photographmemories
New Member
Thanks for posting that, Bill. This is one of my favorite news stories in a long time.
photographmemories
New Member
Here's one from this morning!
Barred Owl at Tryon Creek State Park
Barred Owl at Tryon Creek State Park
Lest I be accused of not giving a hoot about owls, I'll add to this thread.
These shots were taken around sunset on Thursday (4/25) night at Yost Park in Edmonds, WA. A friend who has been filming owls for years advised me that it is most likely the park's resident female barred owl is now sitting on a nest and the male will start his nocturnal rounds about an hour earlier than usual since he is now hunting for two or more.
The evil minions of the Dark Lord tipped me off to the waking stirrings of the male by their constant caccrowphony in the tall firs on the north side of the ravine which divides the park. The owl added a few of its signature who cooks for you calls to the chorus. As I worked my way over to the source of the sounds, the crows let me know the owl was on the move. Yost Park usually does not see many crows (I suspect they do not like its thick tree canopy), but their presence tonight made my locating the owl much easier.
I had to backtrack, but the crows' calls and strafings led me to the owl perched on a branch of a tree near Shell Creek at the bottom of the ravine. Its silhouette is unmistakable.
I repositioned myself to get some better shots. With the 5D Mk III in the shop getting its sensor cleaned, I was shooting with the 7D + 100-400L zoom in TV mode at 1/500, ISO 12800, spot metering. Although the 7D does not handle ridiculously high ISO settings as well as the 5D Mk III, it does a respectable job for half the price as long as the crops are not too drastic.
I used my 580 Speedlite on this photo, which has been close-cropped.
I took some final shots in near darkness near the bridge which crosses Shell Creek. The one has been close-cropped and lightened in Picasa.
As I was photographing the owl, a lady walking her dog passed by. She said that the owls have been a regular part of her nightly walks for the past seven years and told me stories about close encounters with the adults and babies in the spring. I hope I can catch the owlets once they fledge.
These shots were taken around sunset on Thursday (4/25) night at Yost Park in Edmonds, WA. A friend who has been filming owls for years advised me that it is most likely the park's resident female barred owl is now sitting on a nest and the male will start his nocturnal rounds about an hour earlier than usual since he is now hunting for two or more.
The evil minions of the Dark Lord tipped me off to the waking stirrings of the male by their constant caccrowphony in the tall firs on the north side of the ravine which divides the park. The owl added a few of its signature who cooks for you calls to the chorus. As I worked my way over to the source of the sounds, the crows let me know the owl was on the move. Yost Park usually does not see many crows (I suspect they do not like its thick tree canopy), but their presence tonight made my locating the owl much easier.
I had to backtrack, but the crows' calls and strafings led me to the owl perched on a branch of a tree near Shell Creek at the bottom of the ravine. Its silhouette is unmistakable.
I repositioned myself to get some better shots. With the 5D Mk III in the shop getting its sensor cleaned, I was shooting with the 7D + 100-400L zoom in TV mode at 1/500, ISO 12800, spot metering. Although the 7D does not handle ridiculously high ISO settings as well as the 5D Mk III, it does a respectable job for half the price as long as the crops are not too drastic.
I used my 580 Speedlite on this photo, which has been close-cropped.
I took some final shots in near darkness near the bridge which crosses Shell Creek. The one has been close-cropped and lightened in Picasa.
As I was photographing the owl, a lady walking her dog passed by. She said that the owls have been a regular part of her nightly walks for the past seven years and told me stories about close encounters with the adults and babies in the spring. I hope I can catch the owlets once they fledge.
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photographmemories
New Member
Keep on it Bill. Those eggs will hatch soon, if not already. When they do, you will have 24/7 activity, almost non-stop. You may get multiple adults possibly from different generations helping with the feeding. You'll probably see several food drops through out each day, all the way through fledging. If I were you Bill, I would be all over that! What's really nice is you have the time to do it!
Here's a photo from my neck of the woods from yesterday
I'll be sure to wear my motorcycle helmet. I have heard stories of barred owl parents attacking people who get too close to the owlets. My friend who films owls got strafed by one that drew blood from the back of his head.
That's what telephotos are for.
I say that with a smile on my face and I know you are ethical. Just this last weekend I saw a group of people directly under the nest shouting, clapping, whistling to get owl to pop its head out of the nest site. So I walked away came back after they got bored with the whole thing and caught my guys, relieved they can go about their business. I would not be surprised if next year they go somewhere else.
photographmemories
New Member
Here's one from this morning.
