Barn Owl

[JonFZ300]

It was sleeping right next to the road at a place called Leque Island in Stanwood, WA. I was about 10 feet away. One the of the coolest birding experiences of my life.

 

[Jeff G]

Very cool, I wish these rare chances came along a little more often. Nice shot. I probably would have gone by without even noticing it was there.

 

[HavToNo]

That's awesome. Great shot.

 

[tirediron]

Well done!

 

[Jeff15]

Very good shot, well done.....

 

[MSnowy]

Nice!

 

[Winona]

Great!

 

[JonFZ300]

Thanks everybody for the kind words!!

Very cool, I wish these rare chances came along a little more often. Nice shot. I probably would have gone by without even noticing it was there.

I wish I would have taken a picture of the overall scene. We were driving into this area that is a good spot for short-eared owls and we saw a couple guys with tripods and huge lenses on the road. They were on the right side of the road, looking across the road at some low trees just on the other side of the ditch. I knew there had to be something there but it looked like they were using their 5,000 dollar rigs shooting at foliage 15 feet away. It was pretty funny. I parked the car and walked up and asked what they were looking at. They told me and pointed it out. I was 15-20 feet away and couldn't see it until I used binoculars. One of the guys walked as close as he could to it and I must have looked uneasy because the other guy said, "A half hour ago there were 50 people here taking turns doing what he's doing. The owl is sleeping so you can get as close as you want. If that ditch wasn't full of water people would be standing in the ditch." So I walked up and shot about 10 shots and backed off. The guy said the owl had been there all day. I don't know how anybody spotted it though.

 

[RVT1K]

WOW!!

Perhaps an excellent example of "luck" where you were ready when opportunity knocked?

 

[Scott Whaley]

Great shot! I have never seen an owl out in the wild. I take a lot of bird photos and am excited to get my first owl photo. Nice job.

 

[pjaye]

I am insanely jealous. That is a great shot of a gorgeous bird.

 

[zombiesniper]

Excellent image.

My favourite owl and as of yet haven't had the pleasure.

 

[CherylL]

Great shot! Those claws look sharp.

 

[JonFZ300]

WOW!!

Perhaps an excellent example of "luck" where you were ready when opportunity knocked?

Definitely "right place at the right time" kind of thing. Thanks

Great shot! I have never seen an owl out in the wild. I take a lot of bird photos and am excited to get my first owl photo. Nice job.

I've seen a few before but not like this. I have some pics of some newborn Great Horned Owls in the nest that are pretty cool.

I am insanely jealous. That is a great shot of a gorgeous bird.

Thanks a lot!

Excellent image.

My favourite owl and as of yet haven't had the pleasure.

Thanks. Your snowy pics more than make up for it, I'd say.

 

[ZombiesniperJr]

Great shot