{"id":10386,"date":"2012-12-15T11:24:55","date_gmt":"2012-12-15T18:24:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=10386"},"modified":"2012-12-15T13:07:42","modified_gmt":"2012-12-15T20:07:42","slug":"great-horned-owls-on-the-montana-family-farm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/15\/great-horned-owls-on-the-montana-family-farm\/","title":{"rendered":"Great Horned Owls On The Montana Family Farm"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> <em>When I first started blogging 19 months ago, I somewhat arbitrarily decided to post my\u00a0photos at 720 pixels on the long side.\u00a0 It didn&#8217;t take me long to change my mind and begin posting significantly larger images for the much better quality that becomes apparent at that larger size.\u00a0 Since that time I&#8217;ve\u00a0pretty much\u00a0ignored those early posts, until yesterday when <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thefreequark.com\/2012\/12\/bird-verse-eastern-gods\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Ingrid Taylar<\/strong> <\/a>brought my attention to this Great\u00a0Horned Owl post and\u00a0it reminded me just\u00a0how small the images are.\u00a0 So, I&#8217;ve decided to repost a very few of those very early works, with some additions and changes which will include:<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>larger images &#8211; 900 pixels on the long side<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>additional images, in\u00a0most cases<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>techs included with the photos<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>updated narrative<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>I&#8217;m thinking there might be two or three of these reposts over the next several weeks.\u00a0 I hope you&#8217;ll bear with me&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>For many years now\u00a0there has been at least one pair of nesting Great Horned Owls on the farm where I grew up near Cut Bank, Montana.\u00a0 They were never there when I was a kid but they\u2019ve sure taken to it since.\u00a0\u00a0 This farm still seems like home to me and I return to it at least once every year for a visit with family and of course to check up on the owls.\u00a0 It\u2019s the perfect place for these birds as it\u2019s isolated, there are many old barns and granaries for the owls to find sanctuary and the area is literally crawling with\u00a0field mice, voles and the ubiquitous Richardson\u2019s Ground Squirrel (gophers).\u00a0 Both the owls and I love the place!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"10396\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/15\/great-horned-owls-on-the-montana-family-farm\/great-horned-owl-8475-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-8475-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"744,900\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 40D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1211984113&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;500&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;500&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0005&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"great horned owl 8475 ron dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-8475-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10396\" alt=\"great horned owl 8475 ron dudley\" src=\"http:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-8475-ron-dudley.jpg\" width=\"744\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-8475-ron-dudley.jpg 744w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-8475-ron-dudley-248x300.jpg 248w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-8475-ron-dudley-124x150.jpg 124w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-8475-ron-dudley-400x483.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 744px) 100vw, 744px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<em><strong>1\/2000, f\/8, ISO 500, 500 f\/4, natural light, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Most often I prefer my birds on natural perches but there\u2019s just something about owls and old barn wood that appeals to me.\u00a0 I think owls, particularly Barn Owls and Great Horned Owls, often just seem to \u201dfit\u201d in many rustic settings.\u00a0 In the image above, I like the relatively warm tones of the bird contrasting with the cooler tones of the black background and some of the wood.\u00a0 This was taken with the sun fairly high in the sky so the eyes are in shade.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"10394\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/15\/great-horned-owls-on-the-montana-family-farm\/great-horned-owl-5676-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-5676-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"758,900\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;7.1&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;RON DUDLEY&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 7D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1277273227&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;250&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.004&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"great horned owl 5676 ron dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-5676-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10394\" alt=\"great horned owl 5676 ron dudley\" src=\"http:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-5676-ron-dudley.jpg\" width=\"758\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-5676-ron-dudley.jpg 758w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-5676-ron-dudley-252x300.jpg 252w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-5676-ron-dudley-126x150.jpg 126w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-5676-ron-dudley-400x474.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 758px) 100vw, 758px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<em><strong>1\/250, f\/7.1, ISO 250, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc,\u00a0natural light, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>This youngster\u00a0was sitting in an east facing cutout of an old granary just as the sun came up.\u00a0 The effect of the warm light on both bird and wood is fairly dramatic (no saturation added).\u00a0 The bird is wet from the dew, thus the \u201cspikiness\u201d on the top of the head.\u00a0 They look very different from the adults before they develop their namesake\u00a0horns.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"10395\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/15\/great-horned-owls-on-the-montana-family-farm\/great-horned-owl-6324-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-6324-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"793,900\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;7.1&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;RON DUDLEY&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 7D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1277282465&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.005&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"great horned owl 6324 ron dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-6324-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10395\" alt=\"great horned owl 6324 ron dudley\" src=\"http:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-6324-ron-dudley.jpg\" width=\"793\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-6324-ron-dudley.jpg 793w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-6324-ron-dudley-264x300.jpg 264w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-6324-ron-dudley-132x150.jpg 132w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-6324-ron-dudley-400x453.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 793px) 100vw, 793px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<em><strong>1\/200, f\/7.1, ISO 400, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0This shot was taken in shade and part of the bird is obscured but I like the suspicious look I&#8217;m getting from the owl.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"10390\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/15\/great-horned-owls-on-the-montana-family-farm\/great-horned-owl-1767-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-1767-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,720\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 40D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1244143373&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0025&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"great horned owl 1767 ron dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-1767-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10390\" alt=\"great horned owl 1767 ron dudley\" src=\"http:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-1767-ron-dudley.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-1767-ron-dudley.jpg 900w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-1767-ron-dudley-300x240.jpg 300w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-1767-ron-dudley-150x120.jpg 150w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-1767-ron-dudley-400x320.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<em><strong>1\/400, f\/8, ISO 400, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>This photo appeals to me\u00a0for two reasons.\u00a0 It gives us a good look at both the front and back views of\u00a0the species\u00a0in one image and it so well illustrates reverse sexual dimorphism.\u00a0 Sexual dimorphism is a difference in form between males and females in the same species.\u00a0 In most birds, males are larger than females \u2013 one type of sexual dimorphism.\u00a0\u00a0 Not so with these owls and most other raptors.\u00a0 In the image above, the female on the right is larger than the male on the left \u2013 thus<em> reverse<\/em> sexual dimorphism.\u00a0 There is still debate as to precisely why this trait was selected for in many raptor species.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s virtually impossible to tell the sex of a Great Horned Owl unless you can see both the adult male and female at the same time and compare their relative sizes.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"10393\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/15\/great-horned-owls-on-the-montana-family-farm\/great-horned-owl-4234-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-4234-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"672,900\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;13&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;unknown&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XTi&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1212088488&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0025&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"great horned owl 4234 ron dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-4234-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10393\" alt=\"great horned owl 4234 ron dudley\" src=\"http:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-4234-ron-dudley.jpg\" width=\"672\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-4234-ron-dudley.jpg 672w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-4234-ron-dudley-224x300.jpg 224w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-4234-ron-dudley-112x150.jpg 112w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-4234-ron-dudley-400x535.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 672px) 100vw, 672px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<em><strong>1\/400, f\/13, ISO 400, 100-400 @ 110 mm, natural light, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Usually the owls raise their family up high among the rafters in one of the granaries or barns but one year they raised them on the\u00a0 floor of a cluttered old granary.\u00a0 I was surprised that predators didn\u2019t take advantage of the situation but these two owlets thrived.\u00a0 GHO\u2019s are known to be extremely aggressive in defending their nests and young and I suspect that fact may have played a role in the survival of these owlets.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Notice the eye color of these young birds compared to those of their parents.\u00a0 The eyes of chicks tend to be yellowish hazel at 2-3 weeks old, compared to the bright lemon chrome yellow of adults.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"10387\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/15\/great-horned-owls-on-the-montana-family-farm\/great-horned-owl-6-5-09-065-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-6-5-09-065-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"690,900\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 40D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1244204808&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0015625&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"great horned owl 6-5-09 065 ron dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-6-5-09-065-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10387\" alt=\"great horned owl 6-5-09 065 ron dudley\" src=\"http:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-6-5-09-065-ron-dudley.jpg\" width=\"690\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-6-5-09-065-ron-dudley.jpg 690w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-6-5-09-065-ron-dudley-230x300.jpg 230w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-6-5-09-065-ron-dudley-115x150.jpg 115w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-6-5-09-065-ron-dudley-400x521.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 690px) 100vw, 690px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<em><strong>1\/640, f\/8, ISO 400, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>The fledglings can fly at a surprisingly early stage, when they still look too gangly, awkward and undeveloped to do so.\u00a0 You never know where you will find one (or two), especially in the early morning.\u00a0 They seem to make a concerted effort to explore the farm as soon and as often as possible.\u00a0 It\u2019s amazing where they turn up sometimes.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"10389\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/15\/great-horned-owls-on-the-montana-family-farm\/great-horned-owl-1627-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-1627-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"680,900\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 40D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1244092856&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;320&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0025&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"great horned owl 1627 ron dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-1627-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10389\" alt=\"great horned owl 1627 ron dudley\" src=\"http:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-1627-ron-dudley.jpg\" width=\"680\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-1627-ron-dudley.jpg 680w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-1627-ron-dudley-226x300.jpg 226w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-1627-ron-dudley-113x150.jpg 113w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-1627-ron-dudley-400x529.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<em><strong>1\/400, f\/8, ISO 320, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0I found this fledgling on a rung of an old wooden ladder just as the sun was rising in the east.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"10391\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/15\/great-horned-owls-on-the-montana-family-farm\/great-horned-owl-1850-ron-dudley-4\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-1850-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"790,900\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;5.6&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS 40D&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1244176528&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;700&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;500&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.033333333333333&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"great horned owl 1850 ron dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-1850-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10391\" alt=\"great horned owl 1850 ron dudley\" src=\"http:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-1850-ron-dudley.jpg\" width=\"790\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-1850-ron-dudley.jpg 790w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-1850-ron-dudley-263x300.jpg 263w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-1850-ron-dudley-131x150.jpg 131w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-1850-ron-dudley-400x455.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 790px) 100vw, 790px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<em><strong>1\/30, f\/5.6, ISO 500, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">This was taken before the sun came up.\u00a0 This youngster was perched on an old, junked motorcycle near the granaries that these birds feel so comfortable in.\u00a0 Even though I had very little light for this shot, it&#8217;s one of my very favorites, for sentimental reasons.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"10388\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/15\/great-horned-owls-on-the-montana-family-farm\/great-horned-owl-0187-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-0187-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,684\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;7.1&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;unknown&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XTi&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1179294954&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0004&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"great horned owl 0187 ron dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-0187-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10388\" alt=\"great horned owl 0187 ron dudley\" src=\"http:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-0187-ron-dudley.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"684\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-0187-ron-dudley.jpg 900w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-0187-ron-dudley-300x228.jpg 300w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-0187-ron-dudley-150x114.jpg 150w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-0187-ron-dudley-400x304.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<em><strong>1\/2500, f\/7.1, ISO 400, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0This adult liked to perch on a large wooden pole that is one of the supports for an old children&#8217;s &#8220;fort&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"10392\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/15\/great-horned-owls-on-the-montana-family-farm\/great-horned-owl-4175-ron-dudley\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-4175-ron-dudley.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"900,600\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;16&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;unknown&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XTi&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1211963450&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;285&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.04&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"great horned owl 4175 ron dudley\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-4175-ron-dudley.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10392\" alt=\"great horned owl 4175 ron dudley\" src=\"http:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-4175-ron-dudley.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-4175-ron-dudley.jpg 900w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-4175-ron-dudley-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-4175-ron-dudley-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/great-horned-owl-4175-ron-dudley-400x266.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<em><strong>1\/25, f\/16, ISO 400, 100-400 @ 285 mm, natural light, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Both adults are perched on the remnants of that old fort as they wait for dark to go hunting.\u00a0 The bird in the previous image was on top of the post on the left.<\/p>\n<p>I really enjoy these owls every time I go \u201chome\u201d.\u00a0 They seem to add a certain character to the farm that I appreciate and so does everyone else in the family.\u00a0 It\u2019s nice to know that in at least some situations, truly wild animals can coexist among humans \u2013 and even thrive.<\/p>\n<p>Ron<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Note: When I first started blogging 19 months ago, I somewhat arbitrarily decided to post my\u00a0photos at 720 pixels on the long side.\u00a0 It didn&#8217;t take me long to change my mind and begin posting significantly larger images for the much better quality that becomes apparent at that larger size.\u00a0 Since that time I&#8217;ve\u00a0pretty much\u00a0ignored those early posts, until yesterday when Ingrid Taylar brought my attention to this Great\u00a0Horned Owl post and\u00a0it reminded me just\u00a0how small the images are.\u00a0 So, I&#8217;ve decided to repost a very few of those very early works, with some additions and changes which will include: larger images &#8211; 900 pixels on the long side additional images, in\u00a0most cases techs included with the photos updated narrative I&#8217;m thinking there might be two or three of these reposts over the next several weeks.\u00a0 I hope you&#8217;ll bear with me&#8230; &nbsp; For many years now\u00a0there has been at least one pair of nesting Great Horned Owls on the farm where I grew up near Cut Bank, Montana.\u00a0 They were never there when I was a kid but they\u2019ve sure taken to it since.\u00a0\u00a0 This farm still seems like home to me and I return to it at least once every year for a visit with family and of course to check up on the owls.\u00a0 It\u2019s the perfect place for these birds as it\u2019s isolated, there are many old barns and granaries for the owls to find sanctuary and the area is literally crawling with\u00a0field mice, voles and the ubiquitous Richardson\u2019s Ground Squirrel&#8230;<\/p>\n<p> <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/15\/great-horned-owls-on-the-montana-family-farm\/\"><span>Continue reading<\/span><i class=\"crycon-right-dir\"><\/i><\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[334,361,405],"tags":[44,547,102,137,145,156,159,190,211,220,230,1061,276,1062,317],"class_list":["post-10386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-birds","category-family-farm-in-northwest-montana","category-great-horned-owls-owls","tag-barn","tag-bubo-virginianus","tag-cut-bank","tag-female","tag-fledgling","tag-granary","tag-great-horned-owl","tag-juvenile","tag-male","tag-montana-2","tag-nesting","tag-reverse-sexual-dimorphism","tag-sexual-dimorphism","tag-sunset","tag-warm-light"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1zzJh-2Hw","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10386\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}