Long-eared Owl

As I posted previously, this Long-eared Owl was just 2 trees away from the Barn Owl.

The area it is in is a "honey hole" for owls because in the same woods, there has been Long-eared's, Saw Whet, Barn and a Great-horned Owl. In the field adjacent to the woods are 12 Short-eared Owls. AMAZING!!!!!! All at the same time, sharing the same location. FIVE DIFFERENT SPECIES OF OWLS!

Admittedly, these are not my best shots of LEO's, but I posted them anyway...

Long-eared Owl

2012 is being very very good to me so far! All I have to show so far are my favorites--OWLS!!!!! This LEO was my second subject of the new year, coming in behind the Snowy! In third place is the Short-eared Owl which I shot a few hours after this guy! How can I top this? Easy: Saw-whet, Great Gray, Northern Hawk Owl, etc. Easy to list, not so easy to capture! (But I'll try...)

Goose Lake Prairie Nature Photo Contest

GLP had it's 2nd annual contest last weekend. I like this contest because you can enter up to 3 entries per catagory. I take advantage of that in a few of the catagories including animals, both color and B&W, and Goose Lake itself, photos taken within Goose Lake Prairie. I entered 9 in those catagories. There is also landscapes & plants, but I had nothing to submit this time around.

Well, I expected to capture a few places as in the past, but I didn't expect Best of Show! This picture grabbed:

1st Place Color Animal

Best in Color Photograph

Best of Show

Which also means that 6 more of the photos entered, placed 2nd, 3rd or Honorable.

Anyway, it was a thrill for me and I just had to share my bounty with my inner blogworld!

Photo of the Day-Finally!

I just had to post the picture that won "Photo of the Day" on the website I belong to called My Park Photos. I have been a member on this site for 2 years, posted 100's of pictures, and finally...I win!

This site is international and is intended to show photos taken from various parks around the world, and to promote and encourage visitation to local, state and national public lands. The photography from these members is quite impressive! Most of the time, I have felt out of my league, and others, quite worthy, but this particular photo was not one I thought had a chance. I was completely surprised! There are 100's of members and I have benefited from meeting various people through the site, who encourage & critique, as well as offer their friendship through common interests. Their support keeps me posting time after time, and I am so glad I found the wonderful community on the site.

If you haven't already been to the site, check it out! http://www.myparkphotos.com

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I am off to Costa Rica, so come back soon, I will post again when I get back with fabulous photos from the jungle! January 26th.

Another Long Eared Photo

I really liked this photo (click on photo to enlarge), so I had to add it to the blog. I photoshopped all of the background branches out, as it was very distracting to me. (reference the 3rd photo of the previous post)

This individual flew out of the pines that contained a total of 6 LEO's into this bare tree about 10 feet away. I think his stay was short because of his exposure, as he flew off and back into the pines after maybe 3 minutes. Of all the different pictures I have seen of this bird by amateur photographers, I have never seen a shot where he wasn't partially hidden. Lucky me!

A Long Ride for a Long Eared Owl

I took a ride to Chicago (55 miles), because I heard of a winter roost containing up to 11 Long Eared Owls. I couldn't believe the site I saw. There were 6 on this day (SUNDAY), in a neighborhood, where the streets were tight, and the park was small; your typical innercity neighborhood. The owls were in a pine right next to the sidewalk, so I could walk right up and stand within 15 feet of them. I tried to keep my disturbance to a minimum, by being quiet and not moving too fast. I'm sure this is not comfortable for the owls, so only I stayed as long as I needed. There was a lot of foot traffic, so I don't think they will be there much longer. It was my first ever sighting of this species, and for their tolerance, I thank them immensely. I don't recommend getting too close to owls, because they hide for a reason. For the most part, they are nocturnal, thus, with people invading their roost area, they are probably not sleeping well, and are stressed. In this particular setting, being in downtown Chicago, they chose unwisely, and will probably rethink their locale for their safe haven in the future.

My Owl Mission-Part 7-Long Eared Owls/Barn Owls

Long Eared Owls and Barn Owls are nemesis's for me. I have yet to find one, but just maybe this will be the year...

Barn Owls are the most widely distributed owls of our world and can be found everywhere except Antarctica. They are 13-16 in long, and are the best hunters of all owls using sound alone. Their facial disks are built so precise, that they can hunt in complete darkness, and even locate mice under the snow. They nest in tree cavities and have been known to use buildings (the reason for their common name) and caves as other resources.

LEO's are 14-16 in. tall, and their habitat is dense vegetation bordering open grassland and forests. They can locate and kill mice in complete darkness. Their food source is small mammals and sometimes birds. Long Eared Owls are considered endangered in Illinois.

I searched this past weekend for a Long Eared, but came up empty. I did get some cool shots of Cedar Waxwings for an upcoming post--stay tuned...

This concludes the series on owls. Every owl I have featured here can be found in Illinois. If any of you ever find an owl, please let Hannibal know, or any other interesting animal for that matter.