Even though I try to space things out a little, I really have to post these images before I get even more and produce a backlog…
We find it amusing that the juvie barred owls (Strix varia) are semi-routinely visiting the backyard, which we really only know because they still talk a lot, especially the one that we have now taken to calling, “Crybaby.” Two nights ago, I tracked this one down to a tree in The Puddle, but it was disinclined to give me a decent view:
I can’t imagine that the parents are still feeding these guys, but this one, at least, refuses to let the idea go, and sits offering its wheezy beseeching for periods at a time. Note that the branch that it’s on is actually quite dead, but heavily festooned with Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia,) which had reached quite high up. Also, I never realized that was a berry-producer, but I guess this occurs up where the birds are more likely to find them.
Trying for better angles produced only trivially better results:
The reflecting eye is deceptive and confusing, but the edge of the facial disc is visible, indicating that the owl is looking up and to the right, paying virtually no attention to me at all. Which is fine, since these repeated encounters may be conditioning it/them to be cool with our presence (and the sudden bursts of the flash,) allowing us more opportunities to see them when they’re around. While we hear barred owls routinely in the area, sometimes very close, I really had only glimpsed them twice, without the faintest opportunity for pics.
Speaking of that, a couple days earlier we did much better. The pair were more-or-less together and talking back and forth, but one is twice as vocal as the other – again, the guess is the quieter one is the older, by perhaps only a day or two, but thus more wordly of course. The quieter one had perched right on the corner of the roof, easily visible to us ten meters away on the deck, while the other was in that same tree as earlier. Only this time, I was able to walk up underneath a lot closer.
I’m not sure if it had just stepped in something here, or was politely putting in an order for three mice. Actually, I had probably just caught it finishing a scratch, but I’ll take the pose regardless. This is full-frame – I was within ten meters, which is actually closer than I was to the bear (different lens though.) For drama, I cropped down to those eyes, which changes the mood remarkably:
This probably needs to go into the rotation of header images, and yes, some prints will be made soon. Meanwhile, notice that the focus probably couldn’t be better, even though this was focused manually by the light of a flashlight, albeit the same powerful one used for night nutria videos. Meanwhile, this image seems to suggest that your toes are looking a little too mouselike…