I believe the adult is the male parent.
I’ve been unable to go shooting for a while so last night I did some archive-diving for today’s post. This photo goes back 13 years.
1/640, f/10, ISO 400, Canon 40D, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
In the summer of 2009 a pair of Burrowing Owls nested along the Antelope Island causeway within a few feet of the road. Only minutes after dawn on July 7th I found this adult and fairly recently fledged youngster huddled together and apparently enjoying the warmth of the morning sun. I’ve never posted the photo before because my view of the adult on the right, the male I believe, was partially blocked by vegetation so I’ve cropped this version of the photo to a portrait to eliminate most of that vegetation.
Because it was so early in the morning the light was very warm so the colors are unusually rich (I didn’t manipulate colors during processing). I was shooting at f/10 in an attempt to get both birds as sharp as possible so I had very little shutter speed.
During this summer there were at least two other pairs of Burrowing Owls nesting along the north side of the causeway but given the significant increase in traffic and construction along the causeway in the intervening years it’s probably a good thing they don’t nest there anymore.
I miss the old days.
Ron
The depth of color really appeals to my eye.
Glad you like it, Arwen.
This shot is definitely worth an archive dive. Such wonderful poses and light. ❤️ Whatever is drawing their attention seems to be very interesting. (And now I have the “Wells Fargo Wagon” song in my head…)
Glad you’re taking it easy (easier?). Enjoy the sandwich version of BLTs.
“Whatever is drawing their attention seems to be very interesting”
Marty, I have other photos of them looking straight at me but I liked them looking to my left better.
I’m sure we”ll be having the sandwich version for dinner in the next couple of day. Yes, for dinner…
BLTs are totally dinner fare — on the good china too! (A good BLT is tied with a good corned beef Reuben as my favorite sandwich.)
A beautiful portrait — wonder if Dad was saying, “Son, someday this will be all yours to explore?” Little did they (or you) know. In any case, while I was disappointed not to see any of these owls when I was there, I’m glad to know they’ve relocated to areas safer from that godawful construction. Also glad to know you have decided to give your back the healing rest it needs. Summer is still in front of us! 😎
Haha, speaking of typos, that question mark should be outside that quote mark! Such is an editor’s angst ….
Thanks, Chris. Proper punctuation is reasonably important to me in my own writing but a couple of the rules don’t seem logical to me so to be honest, I usually ignore them. Don’t sweat it!
Thanks for digging up and sharing this beautiful photo while you recover Ron. Brought a little extra happiness and some fond memories to my day.
Good. Thank you, Bill.
Love these little owls, and I really like this photo. Thanks for digging it up.
If one lives long enough, one will long for the “old days”. Carly Simon and others have pointed out that, “these are the good old days”. And it’s probably true. We just have to live long enough to look back at them.
Still, there were times when places, that we know and have known, were much better than they are today. Which brings to mind another song; Joni Mitchell’s Big Yellow Taxi:
“Hey now, now, don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone”
Indeed.
Michael, those last couple of lines in Joni’s song fit how I feel about Antelope Island perfectly. Back then I stupidly assumed it would always be like it was then.
Young and ignorant we all were about some things……… 😉
We all have.
One is tempted to imagine the communication going on between generations but it is enough to simply admire a warm family portrait full of grace and dignity.
Probably best that you’re laying low for awhile. The healing process can be frustratingly slow but experience tells me taking it easy hastens healing. Imagine a big sign printed with BLT and a big red line across it as you go about the day.
Thanks for the good advice, Lyle. As long as the BLT with the red line through it doesn’t represent my favorite sandwich I think I can manage it.
A charming and beautiful photo. Thanks for making my world better! I hope you rest and heal fast.
Take Care
Kaye
Thank you, Kaye.
Wishing you a quick recovery so you can get back out there. This is a beautiful portrait of these two Burrowing Owls. A definite keeper. At 84 I for sure miss many of the old days.
Everett, you and I have more ‘old days’ to reminisce about than most folks do.
That shot made for a beautiful and– dare I say it– endearing portrait—–the
warm, low light lends a lovely glow to that snuggle…..me 3 to Granny Pat’s
thoughts and wishes.
Thank you, Kris.
Ah – owls always give me warm fuzzies! 🙂 Cute and snuggly on one side the fierce on the other. 😉 Things change – often not for the better when humans are involved.
Have picked up over an inch of rain over last 2 nights – most we’ve had in I don’t know how long. Wheat heading out so it will be a big help there besides in general…… probably the end of it too!
Judy, I’ve heard that Cut Bank finally got rain too. I’ll have to check with my cousins and find out how much.
Shared a weather post on that this morning – Cutbank Airport got 3+” and 12 W Cutbank(Glacier) over 4″! Of coures, that much generally means a lot of it runs off too. 😉 Glacier doesn’t need it on top of the snowpack….
Yeah, I heard from both cousins an hour or so ago. They got 3″ on the farm and the “creek is rising”. If it rises too much it floods the basement of the farm house.
All owls melt my stony heat, but the burrowing versions do so a smidgeon more quickly. Thank you.
Echoing Granny Pat on your health front.
And that is heart not heat. Finger dyslexia at play…
Gotta admit EC, your typo gave me a much needed laugh. The advantage I have is that I can fix my typos and it’s a damn good thing because I make a LOT of them.
I’m sorry to hear you weren’t up to driving and shooting but glad you had enough to be able to post that lovely photo and certainly glad you kept it all these years. Hope you’ll feel better very soon.
Thanks, Granny Pat.