I don’t often give pet names to my avian subjects but this adult Burrowing Owl seemed a natural fit for doing exactly that.
1/4000, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
I photographed this bird often this past summer in Box Elder County and he (I’ll refer to him as male for the sake of convenience but I don’t really know its sex) nearly always had blood on his bill so the moniker “Bloody Bill” would come to mind when I saw him and it stuck.
- I’m a history aficionado and I’m certainly no admirer of the most famous and original “owner” of that nickname – “Bloody Bill Anderson“, a notorious and sadistic killer associated with Quantrill’s Raiders and Frank and Jesse James but for me Anderson’s disgusting reputation doesn’t rub off on this bird.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
At first glance it appeared that the owl had only a tinge of blood on his bill but the more he turned his head the more blood was obvious.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
When he looked over his shoulder and down his nose at something on the ground it became apparent that the right side of his bill was literally caked with blood (most likely from voles).
I suspect that the reason his bill was always so adorned when I saw him was because like me he’s a creature of habit. Both of us like to perform our routines on a schedule at the same time of day, every day, and I nearly always saw him within a few minutes of the sun coming up. This owl probably preferred to eat breakfast at a specified time each morning.
At least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it…
Ron
PS – I’m still having caching issues with Comcast. Some readers (especially those in Utah) may have problems loading my blog properly or completely. If that happens to you please let me know in a comment (if you can).
Hi Ron, Thanks for all the wonderful photography. Your Burrowing owl is awesome ! and calling him is right . Males are lighter and females are darker.I was aware about I didn’t know why. The female owl spends lot of time under ground and her feathers are less bleached by sun then the male partner . Ursula
Fun series. 😀
Love the photos of BB. It almost looks like he has on lipstick…billstick…er, makeup. 😉 Looking forward to sitting with a glass of wine and perusing your family history. Of course, I’d love to hear more about those cheeseburgers too!
Marty, I never even thought about the lipstick/billstick angle…
The burgers are from the Golden Spike Restaurant in Corinne – a semi-hole in the wall place in that tiny town that we just love. They claim to have the best burgers in Utah and I don’t think I’d argue with them. I like the family that runs it too.
Considering my birthday is the day they drove the Golden Spike (different year!), I may have to make the trip to UT one of these days. The pictures look pretty good!
Most raptors seem to like their routines. Like with us, I think it gives them a sense of security. And a bloody beak is a good thing! They like it when that happens regularly. That means they’re eating (and surviving) well. Plus, it looks like this one likes to get right in there and drink that lovely red fluid (from the raptor point of view). 🙂
Gads but I love burrowing owls. They’re just too cool!
And cool family histories in the west (or really anywhere else) are really good. My family history is mostly mundane except for my Osage grandmother, but I’m just beginning to learn about her. My mother hated her with a blue passion, so I didn’t get to spend more than 10 minutes with her once. DARGH!
Thanks, Laura. Don’t you wish we could go back in time and ask questions of some of those old timers in our family history? I’d (almost) give my shutter-button finger for the chance to do just that.
Absolutely Ron! I didn’t have the sense to ask the necessary questions in a timely manner, except with my mother and by that time, her memories were gone. Sigh…major life failure!
Obviously small but deadly. Great photos, lovely warm browns.
Mia’s website is sill coming up 521 web server down. She must be on a similar server as my son’s site. He said his went down yesterday he contacted the host, apparently the mother board fried. They switched him to another server within an hour and he was up and running.
Thanks for that feedback, April. I’ll let Mia know.
As a creature of habit (and a messy eater) these images spoke volumes this morning. Fortunately starting the day with your blog and a cup of tea doesn’t leave my beak bloody. My eyes green often, but no blood.
I enjoyed your comment a lot, EC. Your way with words often brings a smile!
Love the stories and photos, and of course Bloody Bill, Ron. I tried three times with in 30 mins and finally was able to access your blog.
Thanks, Tin. My blog has been pretty persnickety this morning – sometimes it’s working fine and then it has hiccups for a while. Damned Comcast!
I agree, “Bloody Bill” has to be male!
These are great pics! Interesting you haven’t caught him with a vole in his talons.
Aren’t we all creatures of habit?
“Aren’t we all creatures of habit”
Probably, Dick. But the degree of the tendency varies tremendously. Thank you.
No problem reading your last posts till today. Today after reading it and when I was tipping a comment an error message shows up. I did not bother and did what I usually do in these circumstances. Went to “Recent posts” scroll up till I found this one and clicked. It always work at least for me.
Thank you for the link. I am a big fan of Old West history and as you can easily guess I did not know anything about this ” Bloody Bill Anderson”.
Great images. That owl sure feels very confident about its skills.
PS – Before sending my comment I tried again to click on ” Read more of this post” and this time it worked perfectly … !!!
Thanks for that feedback, Jorge. As of about 30 minutes ago everything seems to be working properly again. Comcast must have finally cleared their cache. They claim they don’t cache files but they very obviously do and their deceit makes me damned angry.
I’m delighted to know that you’re a fan of old west history. I think it’s fascinating. You may or may not know that my great-great grandfather contributed to that notorious legacy when he shot (3 times) and killed a man who was messing around with his wife. His name was Joseph Smith Dudley but I’ve always “affectionately” called him “Killer Joe” to distinguish him from two other Joseph Smith Dudley’s in my family history.
Years ago I set up a very crude website to tell Joe’s story (along with some more of my family history). Here’s a link to the Killer Joe incident if you’re interested. I think it’s a fascinating story.
http://mydudleys.net/webpage_006.htm
I only read a small part of it and got glued right away. It’s a very interesting Family History you have Ron.
Thank you very much for the link.
It is very interesting to me to know that even birds are creatures of habit. It’s something I know I’ve never really thought about in terms of individual behaviors. I have had the experience of having the same flock of Juncos return to my yard in the winter, but that’s the only habit behavior I’ve seen. “Bloody Bill” is a beautiful creature (somehow those words don’t seem to go together even though they fit perfectly). Seeing your posts of Burrowing Owls always makes me smile. Thank you for starting my day off right.
Susan, where I’ve noticed birds being habitual most often is their choice of perches – individual fence posts, power poles or even the exact same spot on a branch.
Susan, most of the birds I have worked with are very used to rituals and habits. When you make changes in their schedule or habitat they get nervous and upset. With some it really brings out the flight or fight response.
Nice series,Ron.
I’m already looking forward to being with these little guys next spring and summer. …and maybe a cheeseburger in Corin to top off the morning. Thanks again for putting us on the right track for both.
Neil, I thought of you when I was composing this post. And those burgers…
Great shots of “Bloody Bill” 🙂 One does form attachments in short order and wants to “name” them. 🙂 “Creature of habit” applies to all to some degree for sure (me too):)
Judy, I take it to extremes. I’ve been called the poster child for “creature of habit”. But it works for me so I’m ok with that. Thank you.
Fabulous pictures! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you, CaJ.
Wonderful shots of Bloody Bill. You are so lucky to have access to theis little one!
Charlotte
Yes, I am lucky, Charlotte. Thanks.