Ever been waiting for a bus and waiting and waiting then two show up at the same time?
So it was with Great-horned Owls.
Every year around this time a pair of Owls use our woodland for breeding and they’re very vocal in proclaiming their territory. I’ve tried several times over the years to get a photograph but failed miserably. I was told of a breeding pair a few miles away in the car park of a public park. They’ve been there for years and are not disturbed by visitors or their cars. Although I’m not one for nest photography due to the disturbance risk I was assured that it was safe. On Wednesday morning I joined several photographers in the car park and managed to photograph the female sitting on the nest high up in a Sycamore tree. Unfortunately she never opened her eyes in the 1 1/2 hours I was there. Still I got a photograph of a Great-horned Owl!
That evening around 4:30 I wandered down the drive to get the mail and my Owl started hooting away. Full of confidence from earlier that morning I got my camera and headed up the yard . Being stealthy was not an option as I was blindly walking towards the setting sun walking on fallen leaves and twigs. As I climbed and ducked over and under the limbs of a huge fallen Hackberry tree I saw him fly off out of an ivy covered Oak along the tree line to the East. He was now perched high up and partially obscured by branches but with the setting sun now behind me. Using other trees as cover I got a bit closer and managed to get a photograph of him!
Just like waiting for a bus!
