Five days ago, as I always do, I stopped at a water source in the west desert I’m very familiar with to look for small birds, invertebrates and maybe even amphibians. I sometimes find songbirds there near the water but you have to look carefully for them so I was looking down near the water for any sign of animal life when I heard a loud crashing sound coming from one of two nearby small trees.
In my peripheral vision I saw something very large come out the tree and almost disappear on the ground in the thick brush next to the tree. At first I couldn’t tell what it was but the crashing noise it made was so loud in the still desert air it sounded like the proverbial bull in a china shop.
The first four photos below are less than tack sharp because everything happened so fast in different places, I barely had time to get the subjects in frame, much less in focus.
The source of the racket was a large female flop-‘eared’ Great Horned Owl. She must have been buried in the middle of the tree, so when she panicked on my approach her wings made a lot of noise against the branches as she came out of the tree.
She was here for less than five seconds and none of my shots of her were very sharp because of the brush in front of her. When she took off she…
landed further away on a large squarish rock. I could tell she was still nervous because she had her ‘horns’ up and she kept twisting her head around as she surveyed her new surroundings.
It didn’t help her nerves when a noisy male American Kestrel gave her grief by repeatedly dive bombing her.
Suddenly I heard another crashing noise coming from the same tree the female owl had come out of.
It was another Great Horned Owl that was significantly darker and smaller than the female. This bird landed…
right next to her on the rock. They’re almost certainly a mated pair, with the darker, smaller owl being the male.
On those rare occasions in the past when I’ve been able to photograph a mated pair of Great Horned Owls together, both birds have always been very close to the same color. So the color differences between these two really stood out to me.
Both birds stayed on the rock for some time but the female seemed more nervous than the male. The male never did erect his ear tufts (horns) and when the female eventually took off away from me, the male…
stayed put. But slowly he appeared to become more agitated, eventually giving me…
what I interpreted as stink eye, including in body posture. I don’t think he was looking directly at me inside my pickup, but he was looking at my pickup and he wasn’t happy.
Well, I can take a hint so I decided to drive on down the road and leave him be. But before I could stow my gear and start my pickup, he took off. I never saw either owl again.
Ron
Note: Great Horned Owls are thought to mate for life (or at least for a long time) but they tend to be solitary except for the breeding season, which is over for this species. So I have to wonder if this male is a young bird still hanging around his mother. Or maybe they’re both young siblings still hanging out together. I dunno…
Wonderful find, even though you are not happy with some of the sharpness they are a great series. The last three are particularly nice.
Interesting record and great images with some useful thoughts about the birds.
Unfortunately, our only large owl, the Laughing Owl
Ninox albifacies, was last seen in 1914 and is declared extinct.
Best wishes from Aotearoa/New Zealand
Such wonderful shots of my favorite owl (sorry, Shorties, you’re a close 2nd). That male is definitely telling you to bugger off!
Wonderful photos, Ron! Seems early for GHOs to begin their mating season but when love is in the air ya gotta go with it!!! This pair really put on a show for you. Wouldn’t you love to know if there is a nest in the tree?
‘That’ look epitomises stink eye. You were most definitely told. A brilliant series that would have me floating all day.
Thanks, EC. I pretty much was.
Love that stink eye 😂😂
Me too.
Totally Amazing! I am grateful, for you ! Thank You.
Take Care,
Kaye
Thanks, Kaye.
Oh that stink eye is infamous! RUN RUN RUN! 😀 He looks ready to launch at your truck.
He was probably considering doing just that.
Oh my how exciting for you!!! Love #5&6 – am a sucker for couple shots and these 2 are special. Getting stink eye at the end of the encounter is priceless!! Can picture you laughing out loud in your truck! 😀
Yup, I was laughing Kathleen. And feeling just a little bit guilty for being the source of his apparent agitation.
Love these beautiful photos! What a find!
Thanks, Joanne.
Great photos!
Thanks, Bill.
Yup, total stink eye. 😠 That’s great! And that rock is unbelievably photogenic. What good fortune all around. Thanks, Ron.
“Yup, total stink eye.”
It’s hard to miss, isn’t it Ellen.
I actually used “photogenic” to describe that rock in my original text but then edited it because I thought some folks might think that was going a little too far. You and I obviously don’t think so.
Great photos this morning, especially the “stink eye”–made me
laugh ! You’ve given me the opportunity to recommend the new
Jennifer Ackerman book about all kinds of owls from all
around the world, VERY interesting, heavy on behavioral info–
I’m right in the middle of it, and enjoying it immensely!
If it’s heavy on behavior info it sounds like it’s right up my alley. Thanks for the recommendation, Kris.
There you go again Ron. Just remarkable. I hope when I retire I can find something like this to do that will make my life and the lives of those who I can influence so much better. For me, what a fun way to start the day. Keep it up!
That’s a very nice comment, Brad. I read it on my phone in the Lowe’s parking lot and thought about what you said all the way home. It reminded me of how much I enjoy what I do. And some of the reasons why.
“Get that truck the hell out of here buddy – this is MY territory.”
Excellent photos and story. We have many GHO’s here and I have taken hundreds of photos of them, but have NEVER seen the male and female perched together like that. That is a special moment to me.
Your crashing sound reminds me of the few times I have walked right in javelina, coyotes, and deer who for sure startled and scared me, but evidently watching them turn and run away were just as scared of me as I was of them.
It was a special moment for me too, Everett. Thank you.
WOW! What a fortuitous encounter of a favored bird you rarely, if ever see in UT! 🙂 Obviously they aren’t used to people/traffic. Luv the color differences and the “stink eye” the male was giving you. I’ve never seen one with “horns down” before – initially thought it might be an injury! 😉 I might not have been able to identify the male as GHO!
Blessed relief this morning – 49 degrees after 74 yesterday morning. I was able to get the house cooled off at least. Couple of days in the 80’s before heating up again.
Thank you, Judy. We actually do have pretty good numbers of GHO’s in Utah but I don’t post photos of them very often because many of them hang out in places that make them difficult to photograph well.
Cooler here too. We actually had light rain for much of the night but clouds are clearing out now.
Wow! What a catch.
This encounter had to have made your day.
Can’t decide which is my favorite; #3 the Kestrel fly-over, #6 the couple’s portrait, or #8 the male giving you the ‘hey buddy you’re bugging my lady and its time for you to leave’ look.
“This encounter had to have made your day.”
It did, Michael. I was also happy to get the Red-tailed Hawk photos I posted a few days ago but these owls were in my thoughts for almost the entire long drive home. I could hardly wait to see what my photos looked like.
What a fabulous series. I know there are owls around here, including these Great Horned, but I’ve never seen one. As for your photos — dare I say that last image of the male is a hoot?
Thanks, Shoreacres. Sure, you can say it… 🙂