Hawk and Owl

[SCraig]

Fantastic shots. Thanks for posting.

Thanks, Snowbear. Much appreciated.

Beautiful, having bird envy here.

Thanks, Ed. That's the first time I've seen either of those species so it was special.

Hey keep an eye for snowys down there. One was seen in Florida last week.

Rare snowy owl spotted in Florida - Orlando Sentinel

Wow! You can count on my keeping my eyes open. The only Snowys I've seen were at the zoo so it would be a real treat to see one in the wild. Luckily everything around here is brown or gray this time of year so white sticks out like a sore thumb

Wow. It never gets old. I never thought the ears or horns on the owl had feathers like that. Sounds weird I know, but I just never thought or knew.

Did you know how close you were and how did it feel if you did not have the camera up to your eye?

Yep, the horns are just feathers. I'd never thought of it either, but they do look like something other than feathers.

The last shot was 5 meters from the owl and 3 meters from the hawk. Both of them were kind of on edge since they weren't accustomed to having so many people around them. The ranger said that when the hawk gets nervous she creeps up her arm and leans against her shoulder. Today both of them were looking from person to person to make sure nobody was a threat. In both cases when they stared at me they seemed to stare straight into my eyes and it was kind of spooky.

 

[LarryLomona]

Great shots.

 

[SCraig]

Great shots.

Thanks, Larry. I'm glad you like them and appreciate the comment.

 

[sm4him]

Great shots, Scott! I was supposed to get home late last night, but ended up staying at my son's last night, so I just now got home.

Nice set.

Thanks.

I thought about you when we were watching them. A woman was talking to the ranger and said that she has been seeing two large, white birds in one of her trees for the past week. She said they were larger than the Great Horned Owl. I wondered whether they were Snowy Owls and the ranger said that occasionally, depending on the northern weather, they do get down this far south. Guess I'll have to spend more time in the woods

Hey keep an eye for snowys down there. One was seen in Florida last week.

Rare snowy owl spotted in Florida - Orlando Sentinel

I knew about the one spotted in Florida--in fact, I've been a bit obsessed by the idea of finding a snowy within range of me. I think I mentioned that another friend and I had driven four hours over to NC just to see one, only to find it had been taken to rehab hours before we got there.

I couldn't believe Scott didn't offer to go to that lady's house and take some pictures of whatever the birds were, on the off chance they were snowys!! If I hadn't been on a fairly tight schedule, *I* might have volunteered to go check them out. But, the likelihood of the very first snowy sighting in Tennessee being a PAIR of them in the same place seemed MORE than a bit unlikely.

I'm betting that IF what she saw were owls at all, they were Barn Owls or maybe even short-eared owls.

Wow! You guys lucked out! That's awesome that you got a chance to see these beauties up close. I hope you guys had a great time. =)

Yep, we really did. Both get lucky and have a great time Sharon and her sister took a bunch of shots as well so maybe she'll post some of them here to.

Yes, we had a GREAT time, but I've decided that I've had it with these freezing cold meetups! Scott and I have met up three times now, and every single time has been in the winter when it's been windy, cloudy and bone-chilling cold. We GOTTA plan a spring get-together!

Haven't even looked at my shots yet, never mind processed anything. I'm hoping a got a few worth sharing, of the owl and hawk, as well as a few others (mostly songbirds). We'll see if anything I got is worth posting!

 

[SCraig]

Great shots, Scott! I was supposed to get home late last night, but ended up staying at my son's last night, so I just now got home.

Glad you got home OK. I was starting to wonder

I went to Couchville Lake this morning and it was a waste. I saw two Hooded Mergansers way out in the lake and a bunch of gulls standing around on a little island. That was pretty much it. Oh, and one heron that took off about the same time that I saw it.

I couldn't believe Scott didn't offer to go to that lady's house and take some pictures of whatever the birds were, on the off chance they were snowys!! If I hadn't been on a fairly tight schedule, *I* might have volunteered to go check them out. But, the likelihood of the very first snowy sighting in Tennessee being a PAIR of them in the same place seemed MORE than a bit unlikely.

I'm betting that IF what she saw were owls at all, they were Barn Owls or maybe even short-eared owls.

"Unlikely" doesn't even come close! Odds are they were nothing more than pigeons

Yes, we had a GREAT time, but I've decided that I've had it with these freezing cold meetups! Scott and I have met up three times now, and every single time has been in the winter when it's been windy, cloudy and bone-chilling cold. We GOTTA plan a spring get-together!

I'm not doing 110 degrees in the shade either! Find me something in the 60's and I'm good

Haven't even looked at my shots yet, never mind processed anything. I'm hoping a got a few worth sharing, of the owl and hawk, as well as a few others (mostly songbirds). We'll see if anything I got is worth posting!

I'm sure you did. There were some good opportunities, especially with the hawk and owl, so I'm sure there are some good ones there.

 

[sm4him]

Well, I have just finally processed some of the pictures from that trip. I'll share a couple of my hawk and owl shots here, since Scott's already posted the exact same birds--and then I'll start another thread for a few other photos.

The hawk: I got several good shots, but pretty much just like Scott's. As he said, it was harder to get the hawk because he was perched on the ranger the whole time. Here's one I got with a pretty decent background:


The owl. Oh my goodness, that owl!! I just could NOT stop taking pictures of the durned owl! Scott's already posted some terrific ones, so I'll try to post a couple that are at least slightly different.

One of my favorites was this, because it shows the nictitating membrane (the third eyelid) so well:


I also couldn't resist taking an abstract of its feathers. Well, not really an abstract, since it's pretty obvious they're feathers, but anyway:


It was a fun trip, and I can't wait to go back when it's a little warmer!

 

[sm4him]

Great shots, Scott! I was supposed to get home late last night, but ended up staying at my son's last night, so I just now got home.

Glad you got home OK. I was starting to wonder

I went to Couchville Lake this morning and it was a waste. I saw two Hooded Mergansers way out in the lake and a bunch of gulls standing around on a little island. That was pretty much it. Oh, and one heron that took off about the same time that I saw it.

I couldn't believe Scott didn't offer to go to that lady's house and take some pictures of whatever the birds were, on the off chance they were snowys!! If I hadn't been on a fairly tight schedule, *I* might have volunteered to go check them out. But, the likelihood of the very first snowy sighting in Tennessee being a PAIR of them in the same place seemed MORE than a bit unlikely.

I'm betting that IF what she saw were owls at all, they were Barn Owls or maybe even short-eared owls.

"Unlikely" doesn't even come close! Odds are they were nothing more than pigeons

Yes, we had a GREAT time, but I've decided that I've had it with these freezing cold meetups! Scott and I have met up three times now, and every single time has been in the winter when it's been windy, cloudy and bone-chilling cold. We GOTTA plan a spring get-together!

I'm not doing 110 degrees in the shade either! Find me something in the 60's and I'm good

Haven't even looked at my shots yet, never mind processed anything. I'm hoping a got a few worth sharing, of the owl and hawk, as well as a few others (mostly songbirds). We'll see if anything I got is worth posting!

I'm sure you did. There were some good opportunities, especially with the hawk and owl, so I'm sure there are some good ones there.

The more I think about it, the more I think they were barn owls. But yeah, given her "clear" level of understanding/interest in birds, they could just as easily have been pigeons, lol.

I suspected you are not really the 110-degree in the shade type.
But you DO know, of course, that wanting something in the 60s limits us to about a week and a half in April and maybe a week in late September or early October. For those outside of TN: Spring is a weird thing in East TN. It will get nice and warm sometime in March for a few days, then cold again. Then we'll probably get another snow. By early to mid-April, that pattern will even out and it will be SPRING--60-65 degree (F) days, moderate nights. That will last for about a week, if we're lucky, and then temps will suddenly be in the 80s and by the end of April people will be complaining about the heat and longing for winter. :lmao:

 

[bc_steve]

Great shots! that's awesome you were able to get so close!

 

[BrandonSCMedia]

Good shots..second one looks kinda pissed that you're taking pics of him :lmao:


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[SCraig]

I suspected you are not really the 110-degree in the shade type.
But you DO know, of course, that wanting something in the 60s limits us to about a week and a half in April and maybe a week in late September or early October. For those outside of TN: Spring is a weird thing in East TN. It will get nice and warm sometime in March for a few days, then cold again. Then we'll probably get another snow. By early to mid-April, that pattern will even out and it will be SPRING--60-65 degree (F) days, moderate nights. That will last for about a week, if we're lucky, and then temps will suddenly be in the 80s and by the end of April people will be complaining about the heat and longing for winter. :lmao:

You guys in east Tennessee are so lucky! I'd LOVE to have a whole week of spring weather around here. Normally we get about 2 days and it will rain on both of them. But, the switch from 60's to 80's overnight does happen here as well. And when it does the humidity comes right along with it.

Great shots! that's awesome you were able to get so close!

Thanks, Steve. It was an awesome opportunity. I'm planning to go by there again tomorrow at about the same time and see if she is there again. Perhaps there will be some different birds.

Good shots..second one looks kinda pissed that you're taking pics of him :lmao:

Yeah, owls have that look about them most of the time. Like they always want to take a bite out of the silly human in front of them

 

[acparsons]

Very beautiful animals.

 

[SCraig]

Very beautiful animals.

They are definitely that! Truly gorgeous in person.