Wild Weds. 18/52 Great Horned Owls

Posted in Bird Photography, Birds in the Wild, Nikon, Owls and Owlets, Photography, Wild WednesdayTagged , , , , , ,

Copyright ©2018 Deborah M. Zajac.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Saturday some friends and I met up to go look for the Owls again.

The Owlets were out of the nest and high up in the foliage with Mom. I didn’t get any shots of them, but both the Male, and Female Adults gave us great looks.

When we first arrived in the park Gordon from https://undiscoverdimagesamongstus.wordpress.com/

was there already and had spotted the Male Adult Great Horned Owl in a tree opposite the nesting tree. Fortunately he was on a branch in the open, but it was well shaded.

He hooted off and on to the Mrs. and the chicks which was really neat to hear. I’m pretty sure he’s hooting in this image b/c his white chest feathers are prominent. When he was quiet it was just a line across his chest.

Great Horned Owl Male

Several hours later the Female flew out of the nesting tree to a huge Eucalyptus tree across from the nesting tree, and out in the open so we had a great look at her.  I’m sure she was able to keep an eye on the chicks from there.  It was evening by then and the sun was sinking lower, and getting more golden.

The light was so lovely on her. Isn’t she pretty!

Great Horned Owl Female

Here are just a handful of the Owl watchers that passed through to look at the owls.

In front row all in black is Gordon, then our friend Anna who you can barely see next to him, and our friend Brian the last one in the front row.  Myself and Dali were still taking images of the Female while these photographers, and birders were looking for the Owlets.  (This image I made with my iPhone 7 Plus.)

Owl Watching Golden Gate Park

It was another good birding day despite me not getting a good look at the owlets this time.

Nikon D810| Nikkor 200-500mm| PSCC 2018

more to come…

40 thoughts on “Wild Weds. 18/52 Great Horned Owls”

  1. These are amazing photographs, Deborah! You are an outstanding photographer. Those Great Horned Owls are studying You.
    I’m so glad you visited my blog and let me know all about the family birthdays in May. Love ya, girlfriend! ❤️

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  3. Deborah, those owls are magnificent. You captured their personality perfectly. That’s interesting about the “hooting feathers”… Fun to see the two-legged birds too. 😉
    TGIF hugs!

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    1. Aren’t they awesome and beautiful birds. I confess I am partial to birds of prey. The Owls are incredible being silent when they fly!

      I’m so glad you like the images and their feathers. You made me smile and my chest puffed up just a bit. 🙂 Not as big as the owls, but a bit. I know only too well there are far, far better photographers out in the world who go to much greater lengths to get the shot than I do that earn and deserve much more respect that I. It’s true.
      xx

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      1. Don’t sell yourself short, Deborah. You are a great photographer. You put effort and passion in your photos!
        There is just something about owls that is special. They look stiff and awkward in that boxy shape, and yet – as you say – are elegant predators.

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    1. Can you feel their glee at seeing the owlets? Do you see the smiles? It was like that all. day. long! Even for me and I’d seen them for two weeks, and have seen them in years past! It’s amazing!

      I’m so glad you like the photo of the people looking at the Owlets, and the Adult Female.
      I made a good choice including that iPhone shot.
      Your partiality to that shot makes me ever so happy! xx

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    1. LOL! It does doesn’t it! It didn’t work that way though. The photographers found the owls first, and people seeing the big lenses were curious about what they were looking at and asked what they were looking at, then they looked up, which brought the crowd. It is often what happens. 🙂

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    1. Thanks Janet!
      Gordon’s lens the smallest of all in this group has pretty good reach with his 2x crop sensor he has 600mm. When he add an extender he gets more reach. Too bad Dali wasn’t in this image. It would have been fun to see his 400mm prime with extender in the mix.
      Mine is the heaviest, and bulkiest, but not the longest at 500mm.

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  12. Yay! Great shots. Owls are mysterious creatures. They seem to be able to read minds! Well, I’m not sure about that, but I do know they fly stealth, a large dark feathery vessel silently sailing through the forests.

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  18. The owls are so stunning. I’m sure that mom can see her kids. I am often amazed by how sharp most birds’ vision is. I really like the image of the male all puffed up. Great work, Deborah.

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    1. Thank you so much Dan!
      They must have amazing vision to go with the amazing hearing!

      It was so neat hearing him hoot softly to his mate, and the chicks. I imagined he was saying, “I’m just here. Watching. All is well.” 🙂

      He didn’t hoot very loud.

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