Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Owls

Continuing on with this weeks birthday celebration we had two owls that where like book ends in the 2012 calendar. The January photo, above, was of a northern hawk owls. These are owls that typically live in boreal forests. We see some in northern Minnesota, especially in the winter time when some of the younger birds migrate south in search of better hunting. They are diurnal so they are often active during the day which makes them much easier to photograph. I photographed this bird at the Sax Zim Bog in March.
December featured this little saw-whet owl. Saw-whets nest up in southern Canada but migrate to the northern United Sates during the winter. At Hawk Ridge in Duluth, MN they often catch and band hundreds of these birds as they migrate south in October. A few usually end up in south eastern Minnesota over the winter and if we are lucky we get a chance to see one. This bird spent a couple of days in the backyard of a Twin Cities birder. he was nice enough to let the rest of the birding community come into his yard to get a peak.




21 comments:

photowannabe said...

I think owls are such mysterious creatures. They really do have that wise look about them.
We used to have some resident owls in the woods by our former house. I really miss their calls in the night.

mrsnesbitt said...

We live in a farming community so we have a few barns around us. Each morning we hear the hoot hoot of a barn owl - it is a most welcome sound to the morning! Lovely.
Thanks so much for this
Denise ABC Team

theconstantwalker said...

Superb images... thanks for sharing.

kirstallcreatures said...

Wonderful owl pics, they are such handsome birds. We recently spotted two Little Owls locally & found it difficult to tear ourselves away from the spot,so I can only imagine how wonderful it was to see these creatures.

Black Jack's Carol said...

I have only seen a few owls in my lifetime, and each sighting is still a fresh and thrilling memory in my mind. Thanks for this beautifully photographed post of one of my favourite bird species!

Martha Z said...

Great images!

mick said...

Great photos of the owls.

fjÀllripan said...

Wonderful photos of the owls! They are so beautiful!

Ania said...

Owls are so strange and beautiful!

Roger Owen Green said...

are they wise or do they just look that way?
ROG, ABC Wednesday team

Hildred said...

I sometimes wish we lived in a more wooded area where owls were more prevalent.

penny said...

I am in awe of your stunning owl shots.
Nicely done.

Anonymous said...

fantastic photos

Sallie (FullTime-Life.com said...

They're both beautiful -- I've never even heard of a saw-whet...thanks for sharing. The birder who invited you all to view the owl in his yard is another great example of the kind of good people I have found birders to be (although I remain a complete amateur).!

Vores have said...

Great pictures you show.
Wishing you a good day.
Hanne Bente / hbt.finus.dk

PhenoMenon, ABCW Team said...

Owls have always been my favourite not to mention I am a horror movie freak so owls does hod some charm :))

PhenoMenon, ABCW Team

Ann said...

To me owls always look they are in deep thought to me. Great pics.
Ann

Pat said...

They are beautiful owls and so well-captured!

Paula Scott Molokai Girl Studio said...

Wishing we had those owls here! But, we do have the great horned owl and burrowing owls. My husband's favorite is the button owl.

The Poet said...

Hello.
WoW! So beautiful. Awesome captures! Thanks for sharing.

Open The Curtains Of Your Heart

Monica S Engell said...

Wonderful photos of the owls! I've never actually seen one in real life:(
Have a nice weekend:)