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http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh266/Austexs/Nature%20Shots/Owl_1.jpg?t=1203296231
Appalachian Tater
02-17-2008, 21:02
Heaven?
Oh, I see it now, it does look owlish.
An owl?
Wow! Good eye GGS2!
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh266/Austexs/Nature%20Shots/Owl_2.jpg?t=1203296630
Blissful
02-17-2008, 21:05
Heaven?
I was gonna say that! I got beaten out by a cat...
(that avatar still cracks me up)
Yeah, an owl I think.
Blissful
02-17-2008, 21:06
Okay, I did have owl written down before the pic was posted! :)
Great pic BTW
Here's another.
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh266/Austexs/Nature%20Shots/Owl_4.jpg?t=1203296772
That's a real nasty looking bird. Great pics.
Blissful
02-17-2008, 21:08
LOL!!! What a...uh...HOOT!
Appalachian Tater
02-17-2008, 21:09
I had a staring contest with an owl from ten feet away in Virginia, the owl won, I finally got bored and left.
Great Horned Owl. One woke me a few nights ago - from about 1/4 mile away. Great shot!
That's a real nasty looking bird. Great pics.
Nearly took my scalp off one morning when I got too close to her babies.
She was teaching them to fly and I got too close.
Wise Old Owl
02-17-2008, 21:19
Death to Shelter Mice
That is Awesome - Great Nighttime Raptor - Wow... Lucky you
Gotta wingspan of about 3 feet. Huge owl.
Death to Shelter Mice
They prefer skunk.
warraghiyagey
02-17-2008, 21:26
I'm glad I didn't guess 'Waldo' before the close ups were posted.:o:p
I'm glad I didn't guess 'Waldo' before the close ups were posted.:o:p
Don't wanna piss her off. She means business. Actually, She was getting a little perturbed with me by the third shot, I think. ;)
The Desperado
02-17-2008, 21:30
It's a Great Horned Owl. They love Mice/rats/occasional skunk/rabbit etc Great pic!!
Here's another.
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh266/Austexs/Nature%20Shots/Owl_4.jpg?t=1203296772
Great pic.:)
I have one to meet again this weekend.I just hope to get a pic for all?
Pedaling Fool
02-17-2008, 22:52
I think it's cool how they kinda look like cats.
What type camera did you use?
I think it's cool how they kinda look like cats.
What type camera did you use?
Canon Powershot G7.
Pedaling Fool
02-17-2008, 23:49
Nice camera http://shopping.yahoo.com/p:Canon%20PowerShot%20G7%20Digital%20Camera:199431 7509
has the same Optical and Digital zoom capabilities as my Panasonic DMC-LZ2, unfortunately mine is only 5 MP compared to your 10 MP.
Tennaseevol
02-17-2008, 23:53
Great pic!
About 26 years ago (I think I was somewhere around 10) I was walking on the back half of my parents wooded property in TN and came upon one of these beauties stuck in a hunter's steel trap (the trap appeared to be intended for small game). It had managed to break loose the chain holding the trap down and was hopping along dragging the trap. I ran as fast as I could to the house to get some help to free the poor fellow. When my mom and I returned and approached him he completely relaxed and did not try to retreat (it was as if he knew we were there to help). He stayed in a relaxed state while I held his wings closed and my mom stepped on the trap releasing him. When released, he took a few steps turned to look at us for a few moments, as if saying thanks. He then leaped to the air. The whole ordeal was sort of surreal for a young fellow as I was at the time. They are very majestic animals. When they fly they are almost silent, which I'm sure helps them to sneak up on unsuspecting prey. I guess as I think back on it, we were lucky he didn't scratch our eyes out with his talons. :D
Anyway, thanks for posting the pic, I hadn't thought about that in a long time. Oh and I forgot to mention, his trapped leg didn't appear to be broken...
River Runner
02-18-2008, 00:03
Wonderful picture Austexs. Did you take it near your home or out hiking?
Wonderful picture Austexs. Did you take it near your home or out hiking?
This one lives out behind my house. We know each other pretty well since I am awake all night. :D I first noticed them about 8 years ago.
BTW... This is only the second time I have seen them in daylight. The first time was at Dawn and I didn't have a camera. They come around when I have my halogens burning while I am out overnights.
They are nesting now. Should have some young-uns soon! :sun
warraghiyagey
02-18-2008, 00:27
Yeah, the daylight photo in that tree surprised me a little too.
A nice story about a Great Horned Owl:
Hootie's Story
The Birds (http://www.theraptortrust.org/the-birds/) > Meet the Family (http://www.theraptortrust.org/the-birds/family/) > Hootie's Story
http://www.theraptortrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/04/hootimm2.jpg A large part of The Raptor Trust's work involves raising young birds that have been orphaned or separated from their parents during nesting season. To do so, we must be sure that the nestlings and fledglings in our care get "taught" how to survive as independent, wild birds. In the wild, birds imprint on their parent or parents. "Imprinting" occurs as a natural biological and behavioral response of young birds to the animals that raise them. It is essential that birds be raised by their own kind, since imprinting occurs within a short window of time in their early development (a time frame that varies among species). Owl chicks raised by people do not learn essential owl behavior that ensures their successful survival and breeding in the wild as adults; most importantly, owls raised by humans lose their natural fear and mistrust of humans. By imprinting on their parents, horned owl chicks learn the behavior appropriate to their species. At The Raptor Trust, from the years 1977 through 2000, orphaned Great Horned Owl chicks were put in Hootie's care.http://www.theraptortrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/01/hootchk2.jpg
Hootie was an unreleasable horned owl that lived at the Trailside Zoo in NJ until September 1976, when the zoo closed and The Raptor Trust gave her a home. We think she was at least ten years old at that time. Since then, for 23 years, Hootie has been the foster mother for all the orphaned Great Horned Owl chicks that came to TRT.
In New Jersey, Great Horned Owls begin courtship and nesting as early as December. By late January and February, many female horned owls are already incubating eggs. This was true of our Hootie, as well. Like wild Great Horned Owls (and most animals), Hootie's instinct to raise babies was triggered by photoperiodism: The lengthening of daylight, beginning in late December, triggered hormone production in Hootie's body, and those hormones stimulated her body to create eggs. http://www.theraptortrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/01/hootchk.jpgBy February, Hootie would be incubating two eggs. She had no mate, so her eggs were infertile, but she would guard them throughout the weeks that follow. Those same hormones also triggered a "mothering" instinct in her. We call this "broody;" that is, incubating eggs and getting ready to give warmth and care to the chicks once they hatch. Hootie's eggs never hatched, but invariably she got her babies. As early as March and as late as June, The Raptor Trust receives orphaned Great Horned Owl nestlings and fledglings. As soon as they are determined to be healthy, they were given to their waiting foster mother. http://www.theraptortrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/01/hootchk3.jpg
Hootie responded appropriately to the baby owl begging calls by gently offering them food and feeding their insatiable appetites.
Every spring for 5 years we wondered if she would come through, as she was quite old. And she came through for us again, in the spring and summer of 2000 when she was a minimum of 34 years old. Between March and June 2000, she raised 10 babies.
On August 24, 2000, our Hootie, the Mother of all Mothers, The Raptor Trust's reliable foster mom, died. In her 23 seasons at The Raptor Trust, Hootie had been a most devoted and attentive parent, raising over 300 Great Horned Owl chicks in her long life. Not one of them was her own; yet generations of Hootie's babies hunt the forests and woods of New Jersey, as fierce, wild Great Horned Owls.
back to top http://theraptortrust.org/wp-content/themes/raptortrust/images/totop-arrow.gif (http://www.theraptortrust.org/the-birds/family/hootie#top)
They do come out in the daylight sometimes. I remember passing one on a road walk that was roosting up on a ranch gate. It was sort or weird, because as I passed, the head just swiveled to follow me, but the body never budged. It just kept looking directly at me, but no other reaction. That was in the fall, about mid September, Beaver Valley up in Grey County, Ontario. The country is mixed farms and apple orchards, and apple picking was in progress.
River Runner
02-18-2008, 04:18
Awesome story Stevem.
fiddlehead
02-18-2008, 05:50
Had a very special and interesting owl encounter/experience happen to me on one of my hikes.
It's a bit long to put on whiteblaze (complete with some pictures) but here's a link to it if anyone is interested:
http://fiddlehead.wordpress.com/
StarLyte
02-18-2008, 08:12
Beautiful! This owl is huge - and look at the eyes - it's looking right down at the photographer. I would love to see it fly.
I volunteer at a local Montessori - think I'll show it to the children this week!
Thank you for posting. :sun
gold bond
02-18-2008, 11:18
I was out in Congaree Swamp National Park this weekend and heard two owls calling.Never got to actually see either one of them. I love to listen to them anytime day or night!