Owls

Why are you looking at me?

The Forest Has Eyes

My wife and I had plans to go to Fort De Soto on Saturday morning, but I forgot to check the website first and found out there was a 5K going on, so the park was closed. I was pretty aggravated, but we headed back home, changed clothes, and decided to go look for owls instead. Within about five minutes, we spotted this beautiful female barred owl tucked away in the woods. She was perched in the perfect little nook, surrounded by branches and leaves, with just enough foreground to make the whole scene feel extra cozy. The golden morning light was starting to paint the background and catch bits of the leaves around her, and with that clean background she stood out perfectly. We watched her for about 30 minutes hoping her mate might join her on the perch, but he never showed. Still, this owl ended up making the morning more than worth the aggravation.

Ready to Strike!

Patiently Waiting

I am owl, Hear me roar!

Just kidding, he's not roaring, he's just trying to get a pellet out. The light was very low here, so I had to shoot thousands of shots to get a handful in focus. After waiting over an hour, he still never got it up, but I'm sure he did eventually!

Having a Bad Feather Day

Great Horned Owlet

Barred Owl Yawning

This barred owl was perched just off the boardwalk, and I was able to get very close. He was basically motionless for almost an hour, and then I caught this yawn!

Barred Owl with Turtle Snack

Someone mentioned they had just spotted a barred owl dining on something, so I quickly rushed over to where they had seen him. He was perched low in a tree. He dropped something as I walked up, and after a minute or two he hopped down and picked it back up. At first I thought it was a snail, but then I realized he was eating a baby turtle!

Barred Owl Stare

Barred Owl Snacking On A Crayfish

I spotted this guy down the trail and quickly raised my camera, but due to the low light, I just couldn't lock focus while he was in flight. But as luck would have it, he landed right above me, and I was able to capture this image of him dining on his morning crawfish meal!

Barred Owl Looking for Breakfast

Barred Owl Launching Into The Air

Got to spend some time with several owls on this cool Saturday morning. This one had just finished his bath when I was able to capture him launching into the thick tree canopy above!

Barred Owl In Flight

I was hoping to see one owl, but instead I saw four! This one had just finished a tasty crawfish snack and decided to take a quick bath. I was lucky enough to capture this shot as she launched out of the water and up into the tree canopy above!