This male demonstrates a fascinating molt and feather regrowth pattern.
1/2000, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM + EF 1.4 Extender, not baited, set up or called in
In late June of 2010 I spent several days with him at Red Rock Lakes NWR as he was hunting to feed his family at their nest at the base of a sagebrush. Here I caught him banking as he turned to approach the nest with a meal. He was a wonderful provider for his mate and their two chicks in the nest and every time (out of dozens) I saw him with prey it was a vole. He was a tireless hunter and a fierce and relentless defender of his territory from other owls. He virtually ignored me as I photographed him from my pickup on the road (I never once got out of my vehicle or approached the nest).
In this photo I like the banking pose that gives us a good look at his ventral surfaces, the setting and soft background, the partially flared alula on his left wing and of course the vole.
I’ve posted other shots of this bird in the past but last night I was surprised when I realized that I’d never posted this one because this particular flight posture gives us such a great view of his molt pattern. I know very little about the sequence of molt in owls but it appears to me that his shorter secondaries are still growing and I’m surprised that they’re all about the same length which would suggest their predecessors were lost at about the same time and that would presumably make the owl flightless or close to it. Unlike geese owls don’t go through a flightless stage during molt so I must be missing or misinterpreting something. I’d appreciate some light on the subject from any of my readers “in the know”.
There also seems to be several tail feathers missing and one primary on his left wing is seriously damaged. Providing food for his family and defending his territory from other owls during the long breeding and nesting season have apparently taken their toll on his plumage.
Ron
Ron, you always take such beautiful and interesting photos. I’ve never seen a photo of a bird molting. This is a beautiful and generous owl, feeding its young.
Good luck with your challenges. You are tough, I can tell.
Thank you,
Alice
Thanks, Alice. I don’t feel particularly tough these days.
FYI…Sorry about your back Ron. Epidurals do help for a short time. Just a suggestion…If they offer to put in a stimulator, which seems to be the latest craze, think hard about it. I know 4 people that got one around the same time I did. One had two put in, one hopper and one lower. Turned out she was allergic to the metal. Had to have a second surgery to remove. The surgery itself is very very painful. Another women fell and one of the lead wires fell down. Mine and another person can not get the battery to recharge. My doc thinks the battery flipped over. I will not let anyone cut me again. So it is a decoration now.
Wow, Debbie. There sure are lots of horror stories when it comes to back surgeries.
I watch a lot of Owl cams, I don’t know much about males molting habits, but the female usually starts molting when she lays the first egg. They come out one at a time for a few weeks. She incorporates the feathers into her nest.
Owlsome photo. Thanks
Interesting, Debbie. It makes sense that she’d start her molt when she begins incubating.
Wow!! Sooo beautiful ! Love this one .how did you get background so soft and pleasing?
Marina, The background bokeh resulted from a variety of factors including the soft light and my shallow depth of field at f/5.6. But mostly it’s a result of the construction of my lens which is known for producing pleasing bokeh.
And you have that same lens! (or at least you will have when you get it back from Canon…)
I hit SEND too soon! I meant to add, what a splendid photo! I always love It when raptors are hunting well and that they and their families are well fed!
I can tell you that the lower tier of Upstate New York (near the Pennsylvania border) is LOADED with voles! Jack probably ate over a hundred in one area and didn’t impact the population much at all. He returned the next year and the next with similar numbers before we moved here. They’re tasty treats for raptors, and while catching them isn’t necessarily easy (it’s all in the timing before they disappear again), they’re certainly plentiful where they live.
Thanks, Laura.
Yes, it seems to be the consensus that raptors have a molting pattern they tend to follow but there can be much variation in it. I imagine that could depend on a variety of environmental and even genetic factors.
Another thing I forgot to mention is that feather wear and/or broken feathers don’t seem to have much to do with the timing of the molt unless a feather comes out of the feather follicle without damaging the follicle. Then, the feather will come in despite the timing (as long as the follicle is not damaged). The factors that inspire the molt seem to be mostly the length of the photo period, which also triggers the hormonal cycle. But that’s not the FULL story. We have exhausted my knowledge base without coming to the end of the story…harrumph!
As April mentioned, the molt is not always as organized and orderly as ornithologists and other -ologists would have you believe! A falconer friend of mine INSISTED that raptors always molt in an orderly sequence beginning with the deck feathers, the two center tail feathers, and moving outward from there. Evidently Mariah and Jack didn’t get that memo because their molt approaches haphazard. Talking about the tail only for simplicity, they might start with an outside tail feather and #4 (random choice by the typist), or #3 and #9 (on consecutive days). Some years, they’re missing three or four tail feathers. At least with these two birds (admittedly a tiny and insignificant statistical sample), the whole orderly thing doesn’t happen 😉
Watching that owl in person must have been such a special moment, Ron! Thank you for sharing it with us.
Superb photograph.
Wally, my days with this male and his family were one of my most memorable experiences with birds ever!
Your photography is so welcome. I see things I don’t have the opportunity to see in person and your pictures are true art. Thanks and hope you are recovered soon.
Thank you on both counts, Betty.
The sequence of molt in owls for the secondaries is from the innermost feather, progressing toward the wingtip. In this bird that innermost feather is the largest which makes sense for the molt pattern. Sometimes, a few secondaries are retained and shed later, but only a few, not the entire set, and usually this happens most often during the prebasic molt, not in a full adult. So why are the other secondaries so short? The only explantion I have is that this is the result of feather wear. Owls have soft feathers that wear more easily than birds like diurnal raptors. Short-eared Owls stay low to the ground and capture prey from the ground. During capture of prey and during take-off, the wingtps will likely strike the ground to some extent. The shortness of these feathers is more than I would have guessed from simply wear, but it’s possible. The tips of these feathers contain no melanin, which means that they are more easily worn. (Melanin, in addition to color, gives more strength to a feather making it stronger, more resistant to mechanical wear are degradation from feather lice or keratin-degrading bacteria.) Do you have other images from other times of year that are similar enough to make some comparisons? It would be interesting to know if this really is the answer.
I was hoping you’d chime in on this, Dan. I’d never thought of feather wear being a possible explanation. All of the images I have of this male (that I feel confident were actually him) were taken within days of each other so I doubt they’d be any help. By the time I made it back up to MT again the youngsters had apparently fledged and the entire family had dispersed.
I really liked this photo. Great work Ron.
Good! Thanks, Brad.
This must be one of your favorites. After I finished admiring the pose, the position of the bird in the frame, the background, the vole, and other aspects of the image I thought – Hmm, I wonder what imperfection Ron mentioned. I reread the text and discovered no imperfection mentioned!
Ha, well now that you mention it I do wish I had a tad more room on the right for a slightly improved composition, Dave! 🙂
Perfect shot of owl and happless vole! Am hoping you are getting some kind of relief from the shingles…AND a bad back!! (How lucky can ine guy get!!!)..My husband, oldest daughter, middle daughter, son, mother, father and I have all suffered with back problems so can really sympathize….your shooting position in your truck must be extremely uncomfortable…with both conditions…at least you’re not a vole……
Patty, Actually, shooting from my truck doesn’t particularly bother either condition. I guess I’m lucky in that regard.
Super shot Ron!
Charlotte
Thanks, Charlotte.
This lovely fellow had to go through a lot and hopefully he is still going strong.
As I’ve said before, you always teach me something with each of your posts. Today I learned what an alula is! Between you and Mr. Google, everyday brings something new. Thanks, Ron
I will spend a few days in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario with some birding friends. I love this place, especially in winter where we will see many winter finches, Pine Martens, Black Capped and Boreal Chickadees and might even be treated to sightings of Black-backed and Three-toed Woodpeckers, moose and/or wolves. We all have our happy places and Algonquin is mine. I would invite you to visit someday.
Judy
Judy, I’d be in 7th heaven just to SEE a marten. Have a great trip.
Excellent shot, love the markings on the underside of the wings and tail.
Great background. Fortunately for the owl voles are tremendously prolific!
There seemed to be plenty of voles for this guy and his family, Dick. Thanks.
We have a lot of birds in my house. I have noticed sometimes they go through a traditional molt shedding feathers in sequence and other times it seems to be an on need molt where they shed the broken or most worn feathers first in irregular patterns.
Interesting, April. Thanks for that feedback.
He definitely has that new parent look of tired determination going on. Poor fella. I see that look in my foster mom right now as the puppies are getting more obnoxious and have teeth coming in.
Such a marvelous shot — perfect position, background, and lighting. Am I seeing the dorsal patterns showing the through ventral side of the primaries and secondaries? If so, that is incredibly cool!
“Am I seeing the dorsal patterns showing the through ventral side of the primaries and secondaries?”
Yes, that’s what you’re seeing, Marty.
I remember that “new parent” exhaustion too, though it’s been a long, long time…
Beautiful bird. Poor vole. Great photo!
Thanks, Joanne.
WOW! Just WOW! Beautiful shot and I’m grinning ear to ear. 🙂 I’ve never thought about them molting…….. All roads in Chouteau Co. are emergency travel only this morning – Ice and blowing. Cascade Co. was that way last night for awhile – really “whooped it up” last night……….
Thanks, Judy. I saw that Cut Bank had incredible winds. Chinook probably…
Ron, I have a question, which you have probably answered many times. Is your back so bad that you can’t get out the Trick?
Is the back problems such that it cannot be fixed with surgery? I just went between 14 years before my second at L4 L5. they had to do a fusion on 12/16 and less than 2 months I am out and about doing what I did painfully before. Yes, surgery is not pleasant but it was really much easier than I thought it would be. Within two weeks, I was back at the gym and within a month I was in phy. therapy. I have been driving since the first week. I fought off a second surgery because the first one did not work but there have been amazing improvements.
As a former bio prof for 45 years, I enjoy you biology comments when you make them. My only regret is that I don’t have the patience to try to take better photos.
If possible get out of the truck and I wish I could share our Chicago winter, better yet, I wish it stop and gives it to you and no to us.
Rick, Yes, I can get out of my truck. But I prefer to stay in it (in most cases) because I can usually approach birds more closely in my “mobile blind” than I can on foot. Birds are generally less fearful of vehicles than they are of photogs on foot.
In this case it probably would have disturbed the owls if I’d been shooting from outside my pickup and that’s something I always try to avoid at all costs.
Surgery may be in the works down the road. Gonna try an epidural first.
I have had more than 40 epidurals over the last 14 years and got relief from only two. Knowing what I know now I would have had the surgery. Shooting from my van would be difficult considering the locations of where I would find the birds. Chicago Botanic garden is a good choice for taking photo but there are very few spots where I could stop and set up a shot without getting hoonked at.
Have a great day shooting out there and I awaite seeing your next post as do my wife and 4 other friends that I forward them to.
Beautiful bird as is your photo of him! I especially like him with these background colors; this photo certainly has that three dimensional feel that is so appealing. Such a determined look in his eyes as he provided. On an other note…I wish you well with your malady; as a nurse of olde, I know how painful shingles can be. Take care!
I love that background too, Kathy – including the greenish gray sagebrush behind his left wing. I have a thing for sagebrush…
He’s gorgeous (as is this shot). Get well soon.
Thanks, Suzanne. I’m trying…