Female Short-eared Owl And Chick Near Their Nest

A type of photo I rarely post. Or even take.

This will be a quick post this morning. I slept in, big time – by about 90 minutes. Usually I’m up by about 3:30 but this morning when I rolled over and looked at the clock it was damn near 5 AM. Instant panic – you’ve got a post to do, Bub!

 

1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in

Over the years I’ve posted many photos of a Montana male Short-eared Owl in flight with a vole in his talons (or beak) that was meant to feed his family at the nest. This is his mate and one of their two youngsters near the nest. The actual nest is buried deep within the sagebrush behind them but it was a cold morning so when this photo was taken the female had encouraged her youngster to come out into the semi-open to warm up in the rays of the morning sun. I guess the second chick preferred to sleep instead of joining them. This morning I know that feeling well.

But these two were apparently sleepy too. The female appears to be having a difficult time keeping her eyes open and the youngster is in the middle of one of the most enthusiastic yawns I’ve ever seen, from a human or any critter.

Surprisingly for Short-eared Owls this particular nest in a remote area was close to a road. Over many days this was the only time I parked parallel to it so I’d have a chance to photograph members of the family other than the male. Because they were acclimated to seeing vehicles on the nearby road they accepted my pickup as part of the landscape, even though it moved occasionally. It goes without saying that I never got out of my vehicle even once over the many days I was photographing any of these owls. I didn’t need to be close anyway, after all I was shooting at an effective 1120mm and this photo is significantly cropped.

I have three photos of the female and her precious youngster near the nest. I cherish all three of them, even though neither bird is very clearly seen in any of them.

Ron

 

36 Comments

  1. That is most definitely a photo to cherish, a wonderful (and rather humorous) look at owl life most humans will never see. And the 2017 series is wow! I actually recall seeing it back then, that coyoteโ€™s โ€œgrinโ€ as he approaches the nest area with parent owl hot on his tail is unforgettable. And I much prefer to think the parents were successful in defending their young. Thanks for posting the link.

    • Chris, looking back on it I think they were successful in defending their nest. If they hadn’t been there’d have been even more of a ruckus.

  2. I had the opposite problem this morning. My early morning call got cancelled, so I tried to sleep in, but the spam calls woke me up. I was in the middle of a dream (a fairly decent one for a change) and I’ve been a bit discombobulated all morning.

    That has to be one of the most adorable fuzzbutt yawns I’ve ever seen! I hope that wherever the Shorties are, that they have a good and productive spring!

  3. Teri’s question got me wondering, so I went to the mirror and tried to lower one eyelid. No can do. The yawn was a cinch.. Maybe not quite as wide.

    • “I went to the mirror and tried to lower one eyelid. No can do”

      ? You mean you can’t even wink Lyle? Geez, that would leave you at a significant disadvantage in the lady-wooing department… ๐Ÿ™‚

  4. It is nice to be able to observe. I hope we have a return of our SEO this year. Last couple years they have been few.

  5. Arwen Professional Joy Seeker

    I woke up late this morning as well. It’s a dreary, cloudy, chilly day here. But this warmed me up. ๐Ÿ˜€

  6. I suspect I am not alone in yawning with that incredibly cute young ‘un.
    Thanks Ron. A lot. Again.

  7. What a cute photo๐Ÿ˜ Itโ€™s nice to know Iโ€™m not the only one it takes awhile to wake up. Iโ€™m jealous of my dog who wakes up and a quick stretch is raring to go โ—๏ธLike you I also over slept… that one hour throws me off.
    Enjoy the day ๐Ÿ˜‰

    • Diana, usually it doesn’t “take me a while”. I don’t even set an alarm but I nearly always get up early naturally. Much too early for most folks but then I’m typically in bed before 9:30.

  8. I went back to the 2017 post. All I can say is, “WOW!” What great shots of special interactions. The photos give a definite impression of how densely and diversely populated relatively natural areas can be with coyotes, owls, ravens and swallows all getting into the action–which probably lasted only a few minutes. Of course the road fragments the relatively natural area.

    • Thanks, Nancy. I wish Antelope Island was as “densely and diversely populated” now as it was back then but it just isn’t, thanks in large part to the disappearing Great Salt Lake.

  9. Sweet and memorable photo

  10. โ€œI cherish all three of them.โ€ As well you should :-). My husbandโ€™s reaction to your post this morning โ€œOh my gosh! How did he get that shot?!!โ€ My reply โ€œhe was well rested.โ€

  11. I’m very impressed this morning by this excellent post. And even more by the one you made in February 2017. It’s always fascinating to see how you arrive to document behaviors with your excellent photos and your very accurate texts. Have a great day, Ron!

    • “Iโ€™m very impressed this morning by this excellent post.”

      I appreciate that, Laval – this morning especially. It was a rushed post so I must have lucked out…

  12. SO cute! ๐Ÿ˜€ Mama DOES look sleepy – nice sunbeam can do that! ๐Ÿ˜‰ That IS quite a yawn……reminder of their big, red, mouths necessary to get the parents attention and handle large chunks of food stuffed in…..๐Ÿ˜„ Glad you captured the moment!

    Sleeping in “happens” and is needed now and again…….

  13. Everett F Sanborn

    Must be a morning for such. I usually get up at 5 but this morning got up at 6:30. Of course this Sunday comes the annual daylight saving for everyone except we Arizonians. That usually messes up sleeping for many.
    I was not aware that these owl nest in the sagebrush. Do coyotes and bobcats hunt for them in that deep brush?

  14. What a yawn! Yes I would certainly treasure this photo! She looks to be saying ‘I may be sleepy but I’ve got my eye on you Bub…’ Thanks for sharing.

  15. The eyelids work independently of each other eh?

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