Monday, April 4, 2011

Meet the Mrs.

If you follow my uploads, a few days ago I posted Mr. Barred Owl. A few days later, I was lucky enough to meet the Mrs. I knew she was a different owl because she gave out a contact call which was a higher pitched hoot. Females fit that description.

Meet the Mrs. (Painted)

For this one, I used a paint filter because I blew out the highlights, but loved the scene, so I did my best to save the quality of the image.

Meet the Mrs.

Lucky enough, I was very close to watch her catch a mouse. I believe that she must be quite old, because I could approach quite close. I also think she is blind in at least 1 eye, but she could track my movement. I can almost guarantee she can see some, although some might say that their facial disks did the job of hearing my movements. Could be...




Note the cataract in her left eye.




She was amazing to watch, and I feel so lucky to get to have such a close encounter. She ranks as my personal #1 for sharing moments with nature without scaring the subject off. Add to that, she hunted, and I saw her mate, and she hooted right in front of me. It doesn't get any better! Stay tuned for more shots...

10 comments:

Tim James said...

Revealing series of shots. Really nice work. – Tim

Dina said...

Your barred owl pictures are amazing. I recently saw my first one in the wild and was so in awe.

Melissa Weisbard said...

Spectacular! I had a similar animal experience in Ramsey Canyon in Arizona. We were walking along a path in the canyon when a Doe and her fawn walked right across the path in front of us. They walked down the the path for a moment and then proceeded to graze on the hill next to us. I got to snap a few photos without scaring them off, but I didn't dare get to close. It was a great experience!

Ruth Hiebert said...

What a special time and great photos to remember this by.

Montanagirl said...

You are so right - it doesn't get much better than this - or does it? Can't wait to see what other photos you're going to share. These are fabulous.

Chris said...

Wow excellent and splendid! I guess she might be a pretty old lady if she has this problem at her eyes... The picutres with the mouse in the mouth are fantastic!

Julie G. said...

Absolutely fantastic! A most glorious experience for you. Wonderful images of this beautiful female. Awesome post! A joy to view your splendid blog.

Coy Hill said...

Icredible series! What a fantastic shoot!

Passinthru Outdoors said...

WOW just some incredible photos.

Thanks for sharing.
Passinthru Outdoors Blog - Sharing the Passion

Carol said...

Wow!! What a great capture. Beautiful bird. Can't imagine you'll get another one with a bad eye...and a mouse.