Three days ago I spent the morning of my birthday in the west desert and the best birthday present of the day was spending 32 minutes with a mated pair of Short-eared Owls. For the entire time I spent with them they were hunting an approximately 200 acre field on the west side of the road, so this time they were in good light. For a change.
The bad news is that they were never very close and I was having trouble with heat waves causing soft shots. None of my photos were tack sharp but some were ‘sharp enough’ (in my judgment) to document my birthday present in a blog post.
They were hunting the huge field independently of each other so I never knew when or where one of them would appear from out of the many ravines and small valleys. Usually I only had a second or two to try to get the owl in focus before it turned away from me or disappeared in one of the many dips in the rolling field.
Most often they were so far away I just watched them with my naked eye.
A vertical composition because I didn’t have enough room on the right to go horizontal.
Typical of Shorties they were usually hunting quite low to the ground but…
I caught this owl pretty high up so the background bokeh is very soft and I think, pleasing.
Two frames later you’ll notice that the bird is looking up instead of down, as you’d expect from a hunting owl. That’s because the bird was beginning to fly higher in order to join the other owl that was flying above it. More about that in a minute.
This is the last shot in the short series that was sharp enough for presentation here.
I tried repeatedly to catch an owl in a dive on prey and this is the only time I succeeded. This bird had been skimming low over the sagebrush when it saw prey and dived on it. I have no idea if it caught the presumed vole it was after.
A note before we proceed. For behavioral reasons I’m confident that the two owls are a mated pair but I’ll make no attempt at sexing them because their coloration was quite similar. This from Cornell on sexing Short-eared Owls:
“Females generally darker dorsally owing to more brown, and ventrally owing to rust color and heavier streaking, but there is overlap and sexes are not reliably distinguished by plumage.”
As I said, these two were hunting the large field independently of each other but occasionally (3 times while I was there) their erratic hunting paths would bring them close enough together that, as if on some mysterious cue, they both rose high into the sky and began cavorting with each other.
They would repeatedly fly at each other, sometimes coming so close to each other that…
they may have made actual contact.
But I’m confident they weren’t fighting (I’ve photographed fighting male Shorties several times before). I believe this is a type of play that reinforces their pair bond. I’m also confident this wasn’t the typical “sky dancing” that Shorties are known for. I know how to recognize that behavior.
It was an exciting series of encounters for the photographer, soft shots or not. When I got home my good friend and neighbor Shane Smith said that it was my birthday present from the owls.
Not very scientific but I like to think so.
Ron
Happy Belated Birthday Ron. I am still older than you, so your are not older than everyone!! I hit 81 this next month. I am happy you had a good time with the Short-eared Owls. I think that is the owl you have a picture of in your camper flying with a vole in its mouth?
“I think that is the owl you have a picture of in your camper?”
It’s the same species but not the same owl. Thanks, Trudy.
I’m late to the conversation, but just wanted to give an enthusiastic thank you for sharing these awesome photos of a beautiful pair of owls. What a great birthday present to spend that time with them, and thank you for sharing it with us.
Thanks very much, Bill – late or not.
Do we share a birthday? Or just close to it? 5/9?
( birth years are so superfluous at this age! )
Love, love these photos)
“Do we share a birthday?”
Apparently we do.
A belated Happy Birthday and many more. Excellent photos of an uncommon bird. Age hasn’t diminished your skills.
“Age hasn’t diminished your skills.”
Thanks. Maybe not yet but age always comes out on top, eventually.
Happy Birthday! May the coming year be full of magical moments and good health.
The photos are mind blowing, beautiful.
Take Care and Thank you,
Kaye
Thanks, Kaye.
What a truly wonderful birthday gift – for you and for us.
I love the idea of the birds cavorting with each other – and if only I could fly I would do a LOT of cavorting.
“if only I could fly I would do a LOT of cavorting.”
That goes for me too, EC. Thanks.
Wonderful birthday present. Great shots even if not close or as sharp as you like. I did not see a single one this morning, in fact it was relatively birdless.
Thanks, April. If it was as windy there as it has been here, that may be why birds were scarce.
It wasn’t, light pleasant breeze. Driving home was another story! Semis were having trouble.
You got Shortie owls for your birthday, I got baby magpies (we share a b’day, but you are older than me 😄). My birds were fun, but yours were spectacular! Happy belated birthday! (The story of your mom is very scary!)
“we share a b’day, but you are older than me”
I’m older than everybody, Carolyn! Happy belated birthday to you.
Yes, mom very nearly died that night. I can’t even imagine having to grow up without her.
It’s wonderful… you really did have the best kind of a happy birthday. And here we are getting to share your happiness through your photos and story. Thank you and may you have lots of belated birthday happiness in the next several days.
“Thank you and may you have lots of belated birthday happiness in the next several days.”
It’s been a good birthday run, Nina. Lots of calls from and personal visits with family, friends and neighbors. And I didn’t even have to go out and “celebrate”, which I really don’t like to do. And then there were the owls…
I’m in agreement on not going out; celebration is so much better with the birds.
I’m so happy you were able to cavort with these hunting and cavorting Shorties on your birthday—surely one of the finest gifts we can receive is time spent with creatures (or people) in places we love! What fun pics these are, enhanced by your descriptions of their activities.
Happy belated, Mr. D — and many happy returns (of birthdays, owls, kingfishers, et. al.)! 🥰
Thanks, Chris. It was a “cavorting” kind of morning.
These photos are exciting and beautiful. I love thei sharpness, wings wide in flight and the detail in the faces. Thank for sharing this special sequence🙏🏻
Thank you, Eloise.
Happy Birthday, Ron. Still getting Personal Bests at 78!
“Still getting Personal Bests at 78!”
That’s a good way to look at it, John. If not best photos, at least some of the best opportunities.
Happy birthday! What a perfect present. I would love to know what the shorties are “thinking/feeling” when cavorting with each other like that…bird behaviors are so fascinating sometimes! (Maybe all the time, for you!)
I’d like to know too, Melanie. Perhaps they’re “thinking/feeling” more than we generally give them credit for.
Oh wow!! Ron these are aweseome!!!
Glad you like them, Lois. Thanks.
Happy Birthday Ron. A Mother’s Day BD – MD is the 2nd Sunday in May. How many times has your BD fallen on MD?
Really like the 6th diving photo. That really is good. All the photos though are excellent and I agree on the mid-air contact. Nothing aggressive about that. During the past month as we have watched a male eaglet become a full size adult, hawks have attempted to get hear the nest and we often saw both adults in aerial combat with the hawks and sometimes touching.
“How many times has your BD fallen on MD?”
A bunch of times, Everett – in 1952, ’64, ’70, ’77, ’88, ’94, 2001, ’08, ’15 and ’21. Your question made me curious so I looked it up.
When I was born on 5/9/47, Mother’s Day was two days later, on May 11. Mom had some serious complications soon after my birth so Dr. Whetstone ordered the nurses to keep a close eye on her all night on the 10th. They didn’t and mom ended up hemorrhaging all night long – nearly killing her. Mom often joked with me about how “you almost killed me on Mother’s Day”.
WOW! The amount of nurse coverage in those days was minimal, at least here. I remember our family hiring a private nurse for my maternal Grandma so sit with and keep track of here near the end… Joe’s paternal grandmother died from uncontrolled hemmorage follow the birth of his father due to lack of training of a midwife fill in. Unfortunately, it still happens………
Judy, it was in Cut Bank’s first “hospital”, a converted (small) hotel on Main Street. Dr. Whetstone was very angry that it happened and he let his displeasure be known.
Thanks goodness that did not happen – you would never be celebrating Mother’s Day
My 10 years young twin brothers were born in Sept 1947
A very Happy Birdday to you! May you continue to explore and stay curious as you have so far.☺️
Thanks, Brett.
Enjoyed the pictures. It was certainly a nice surprise for your birthday. 😊
Good. Thanks, Laurie.
Great shots – ALL – in my unprofessional opinion. I did not forget your birthday – but was with my grandson’s wife and 2 children for the day (she is having health problems) – so did not call you, as it was late when I got home. Sounds like your birthday was special, none the less.
Grateful to be able to view your accomplishments.
Do you drive off road and actually go through the fields?? Just wondering.. Take care!
Judy, you’re forgiven for not calling me. 🙂 I think this is the first time you didn’t in about 20 years! You’ve been amazing about that.
No, I never drive off road – driving willy nilly through the vegetation. I have an ethical issue with that. Besides, it’s often private land, usually posted.
That said, some of the “roads” I drive on aren’t much more than dirt tracks. The proof of that is the layers of dust inside my pickup. I could grow potatoes on my dashboard.
I LOVED the last 4 shots– “cavorting” is a great way to describe
what you’ve captured here– they brought you ” joie de vivre”, in
the sky, on your birthday– what a fine gift ! Possibly synchronicity,
but you went looking for it, prepared to see and glory in it–that’s
a gift from your own spirit– kept alive–after a longish life. Congrats !
Well said, Kris. “Synchronicity” or not, I’ll take it.
“Sharp enough” indeed! Beautiful shots all around tho the ones of them interacting with each other REALLY appeal to me – even the one that would appear to be a collision if you hadn’t told the real story. 🙂 GREAT B-Day present…….. 🙂
Got your head around 78 yet? 😉 For me that one has been a challenge!
“Got your head around 78 yet?”
I sure as hell haven’t, Judy.
As she got older, birthdays never bothered my mother one little bit but there was something about her 75th birthday that made her depressed. And now I’m three years older than that!
Happy birthday Ron! What a wonderful gift. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Thank you, Mark.
Happy Birthday! Or Happy Birdday. What a great way to spend the day.
Thanks, Mary.
At the risk of coming off as “woo-woo”, I believe there are what Carl Jung called synchronicities that occur when people focus their efforts and energies into something. For someone like you who has put so much focus, attention, and intention into this work, it is not a grand stretch of imagination to think that you were given (or manifested) a gift on the anniversary of your birth. I mean, come on, they were “Shorties”. There is a history of connection here.
Thank you for sharing this gift with the rest of us. I really enjoyed these photos. Every one of them together told the story of that morning. Fantastic!
“I mean, come on, they were “Shorties”.”
Yup, you get it Michael.
Thanks very much. You can go “woo-woo” on me any time you like.
😉
Well done. Having so much time with them would be a gift!
Thanks, Bruce. It was enough time that I took 543 shots of them. I just wish they were sharper.