I think this owl must have heard a vole scurrying around in the grasses beneath her.
- I believe this bird to be a female based on her size, her somewhat darker colors and the relatively heavy streaking on her breast which thins out toward her flanks. But there’s some overlap between males and females so I can’t be sure. I photographed this bird on 6/24/16 in Box Elder County. All images below are presented in the order they were taken.
1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Soon after she landed on the post she appeared to be scanning for prey indiscriminately, often looking in different directions but always on a mostly horizontal plane.
1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
But suddenly her focus was below and slightly in front of her.
1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
She seemed to be tracking something that was hidden in the tall grasses and moving from her left to right.
1/3200, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Then whatever it was must have backtracked because her eyes became glued to the grasses directly below her again. I like this pose, partly because I don’t think I have another owl shot quite like it.
While watching her I always felt like I knew almost exactly where the presumed vole was and which direction it was going just by following the direction of her intense gaze. Of course she was probably using her powerful hearing abilities more than her eyesight but either way she had to “focus”.
I spent quite a while with her while she was hunting from this post but in the end she lost interest and eventually flew off.
Ron
On an unrelated note, yesterday Utah DWR and Utah State Parks announced that the sizeable herd of Bighorn Sheep on Antelope Island has become infected by a respiratory disease and the animals that remain must be eradicated. As you can imagine, this is truly devastating news. More details can be found here.
Is it possible that some of the bighorn sheep which remain can have developed an immunity??? Why kill all of them prior to determining this??
Gggggggrrrrrrr
I dunno, Nicky.
But I’m fairly confident they know what they’re doing. DWR has a lot invested in those animals and they take this development very hard so I’m sure they’d do everything possible for them.
As many of your readers commented, the photos of the owl are just wonderful. They are counterbalanced with the very sad story about the Big Horn Sheep. What a shame they had to suffer so much. Shooting them seems cruel until you consider the alternative.
Thanks for the photos and article, Ron.
“Shooting them seems cruel until you consider the alternative”
Agreed, Alice. It appears they have no better choice. Thanks.
Poor Bighorns! I hope that the vector/path can be found. I wish that there was a way to treat them instead of the alternative.
Thank you for the Shortie shots — I’d hate to be a Vole near her.
Marty, most of them were already dead when they found out there was a problem. They live in a very remote part of the island and this time of year they can only be surveyed by helicopter.
As always, I learn so much from you….I love your photos and anecdotes associated with them.
And also the extraneous info, like the [albeit] devastating and sad news about the Bighorn Sheep.
I appreciate all your education efforts on behalf of the Wild Ones. Thanks Ron!
And I appreciate your very nice comment, Karen. Thank you.
Beautiful! They lift my spirits as I sit in a casino in Las Vegas. I spent yesterday in Red Rocks Canyon but today I am back in the city.
I read a brief article about the sheep, very sad. I did not see the name of the disease, do they know what it is or are the waiting on the national lab reports?
April, I spent some time in Red Rocks but it was about 110 degrees…
I read two articles on it (KSL and Tribune) and neither one named the disease.
Such a mixed post. The good and the very beautiful and the very, very sad and bad. I do hope that they can find how the virus was introduced, and prevent similar calamities.
I noticed that contrast too, Ec. Thank you.
Fantastic owl pictures…I love the “long johns” on the legs….it is sad to hear about the Bighorn sheep..hope they find out how the disease got there..They’re pretty majestic animals…losing that many is terrible…I hope they don’t find out it was some how caused by humans…
“I hope they don’t find out it was some how caused by humans”
Me too, Steve – either deliberately or through incompetence. Either way there would be hell to pay…
Thanks Steve. How nice (and reassuring) to note that I am not the only one with an eye for bird britches.
What stunning photos! Such a beautiful bird. I am so sorry to hear about the herd.
Thank you, Joanne.
BE still my heart! ❤️ Such beautiful photos and she is stunning in all photos. I notice she never changed her grip on the post once. Like Judy, I never tire of watching these birds…I could sit for hours. Sometimes it is that, waiting and watching for movement and a change in their plans and hopefully be ready to catch it.
Thanks, Kathy. I do the same thing with them – waiting and watching with my finger on the shutter button.
Outstanding series Ron. Those eyes are beautiful and so intent on the task of finding prey. That is sad news regarding the Big Horn Sheep. I have only seen them twice in my lifetime – once at Zion National Park, and once at the Rio Grande Gorge near Taos. Beautiful animals.
Everett Sanborn, Prescott AZ
Everett, very few visitors to the island ever see the bighorns. They spend nearly all of their time in backcountry portions of the island that are generally off limits. I’ve only seen a few of them a couple of times when they’ve wandered to other more accessible places on the island.
Incredibly sad about the herd.
I do love the owl pictures. 🙂
Thanks, Arwen.
Beautiful/fun photo’s of the owl checking out “something” 🙂 I never tire of watching owls….. 🙂 Devastating news on the Big Horn Sheep especially when they have no idea how the disease got there with no domestic sheep around. 🙁 There have been problems off/on with that in MT BUT there are plenty of domestic sheep to transmit it. Hope they figure it out and there are steps that can be taken to prevent it in the future. I’m sure they won’t want to reintroduce them until they know……
Judy, it seems to be a mystery as to how the disease got to the island. It’s mostly isolated by the lake and there’s no domestic sheep or other animals on the island that could be the source. Things could get interesting if they eventually discover the source.