I was photographing adult male blackbirds when suddenly this very recently fledged youngster popped up in the cattails right in front of me. At first I thought it was just curious about me and my big truck but that turned out not to be the case.
The antics of Burrowing Owls are always entertaining but “personality” simply oozes out of the juveniles. 1/400, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in This youngster had recently fledged and had begun to do a little exploring. On this early morning I found it on this perch just after sunrise. Thus was further away from the burrow than I’d seen any of the juveniles up to that point. 1/400, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in Within just a few minutes it gave me a variety of interesting poses – first an enthusiastic yawn… 1/500, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in and then long and drawn out wing stretch with left foot extended… 1/500, f/8, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in which concluded with the wing down and partially hidden behind the rock. Soon after this shot was taken the bird flew back to the comfort and security of the burrow and the rest of its family. Ron
Note: When I first started blogging 19 months ago, I somewhat arbitrarily decided to post my photos at 720 pixels on the long side. It didn’t take me long to change my mind and begin posting significantly larger images for the much better quality that becomes apparent at that larger size. Since that time I’ve pretty much ignored those early posts, until yesterday when Ingrid Taylar brought my attention to this Great Horned Owl post and it reminded me just how small the images are. So, I’ve decided to repost a very few of those very early works, with some additions and changes which will include: larger images – 900 pixels on the long side additional images, in most cases techs included with the photos updated narrative I’m thinking there might be two or three of these reposts over the next several weeks. I hope you’ll bear with me… For many years now there has been at least one pair of nesting Great Horned Owls on the farm where I grew up near Cut Bank, Montana. They were never there when I was a kid but they’ve sure taken to it since. This farm still seems like home to me and I return to it at least once every year for a visit with family and of course to check up on the owls. It’s the perfect place for these birds as it’s isolated, there are many old barns and granaries for the owls to find sanctuary and the area is literally crawling with field mice, voles and the ubiquitous Richardson’s Ground Squirrel…
This morning I met some of my relatives out on Antelope Island and in our conversation the subject of the Great Horned Owls on our family farm in nw Montana (by Glacier NP) came up. I haven’t visited the farm yet this summer and our conversation reminded me of how much I miss the place (and the owls). So I decided to do a post of some images I’ve taken in the past of fledgling GHO’s on the farm. I’ve posted some photos of a couple of these birds in the past but they were different images. The owls have been resident on the farm for many years now and everyone up there loves them and watches out for them. When the youngsters fledge you just never know where they will turn up in the early mornings and evenings. They do a lot of exploring around the old barns, granaries and farm equipment. 1/800, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Sometimes the setting I find them in is both rustic and cluttered with old metal and farm machinery. 1/800, f/5.6, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Other times they perch in the openings of old barns and granaries which usually gives me a black background which I like. When there’s no direct sunlight on the wood the color tones are cool. The staple diet of these owls is Richardson’s Ground Squirrels (we’ve always just called them”gophers”). Here you can see fresh gopher blood dripping down the wood from the last meal of one of the owls. …
Yesterday we came across this Loggerhead Shrike fledgling perched high and pretty in the early morning light. 1/500, f/8, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc A few minutes after this shot was taken the bird flew off so we decided to look for more opportunities elsewhere and left the area. 1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Just before we quit shooting for the day we decided to look for the fledgling again in the same area as before. We found two of them this time – one flew off almost immediately but this one allowed us some close observations for about 25 minutes. By this time of the morning the bird was side-lit in most situations but we got to see some interesting behaviors. Typical of youngsters this one was curious about its surroundings and spent quite a bit of time exploring the greasewood bush it was in. Here it is about to half hop/half fly to the twigs in the upper left of the frame. 1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc Several times it picked off one of the drier greasewood buds and played with it for a while. 1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc But a parent coming in with food always got the full attention of the fledgling. In this image one of the adults is delivering a grasshopper to the begging young bird – you can just see the top of the parents head at the bottom of the frame as it works its way…
Great Horned Owls (hereafter referred to as GHO’s in this post) have been resident on the Dudley farm in NW Montana for years and are usually successful in raising one brood of youngsters. Typically they’ll nest in one of the several old granaries available to them. Peekaboo youngster Most of these older granaries have seen their better days since many were constructed in the 1930’s and have had to withstand the fierce Montana wind but the owls love them for both roosting and nesting. Here you can see a very young GHO peering out at me over the back of its sibling. Siblings on granary floor These are the siblings on the granary floor. It has been used only for junk storage for many years so it’s very cluttered but the owls don’t seem to mind in the least. Chicks in tree nest GHO’s will often nest in trees but like other owls and falcons they do not build their own nests, preferring to take over the previously used nests of other species such as Red-tailed Hawks (most commonly), other hawks, crows, ravens and herons. I found this nest next to a major road about 35 miles from the farm. I don’t know what species originally constructed this nest but the spring after these photos were taken the nest was being used by a pair of Swainson’s Hawks. Interspecific recycling in the bird world… Three GHO chicks in a tree This is the same nest as in the previous image. As you can see the…
For perhaps twenty years now there has been at least one pair of nesting Great Horned Owls on the farm where I grew up near Cut Bank, Montana. They were never there when I was a kid but they’ve sure taken to it since. This farm still seems like home to me and I return to it at least once every year for a visit with family and of course to check up on the owls. It’s the perfect place for these birds as it’s isolated, there are many old barns and granaries for the owls to find sanctuary and mice, voles and the ubiquitous Richardson’s Ground Squirrels (gophers) are everywhere. Both the owls and I love the place! Great Horned Owl in a barn cutout Most often I prefer my birds on natural perches but there’s just something about owls and old barn wood that appeals to me. I think owls, particularly Barn Owls and Great Horned Owls, often just seem to “fit” in many rustic settings. In the image above, I like the warm tones of the bird contrasting with the cooler tones of the black background and some of the wood. Juvenile (no “horns” yet) in warm, early morning light The youngster above was sitting in an east facing cutout in an old granary just as the sun came up. The effect of the warm light on both bird and wood is fairly dramatic (no saturation added). This juvenile is wet from the dew, thus the “spikiness” on the top of the head. They look very different from the…
