Hoot Owl

SCraig · Nov 12, 2011

As a newb around here I thought I'd post a couple that I've shot in the past week.

I've never seen an owl in the wild until last weekend. I was walking around Radnor Lake here in Nashville and as I was leaving I saw a flash of wings to my right. The owl in the first photo landed on a limb about 25' away from the walkway. This morning I was walking around the lake again and was thinking "This is right where I saw that owl last weekend." I looked up and lo and behold there it was again sitting on the same limb of the same tree.

Even though this is a state park they are rabid about people getting off the designated paths and walkways (the list of things people can't do is longer than the list of things they can do) so getting on the other side of him was out of the question (I was leaning against a ranger's truck this morning!).

Both were shot with a Nikon D90 and Sigma 150-500mm lens. EXIF data is in the photos.

Jake_NN_Bake · Nov 12, 2011

To this day I have never seen an owl aside from zoos. They are both really great photos. The second one is so cute. And that's coming from someone who says cute very rarely.

SCraig · Nov 12, 2011

Same here, Jake. I had never seen one in the wild until last weekend. That part of Nashville is solid wooded area so seeing what is presumably the same owl on the same limb on two days a week apart is something I never expected.

And I also seldom use the word "Cute" but here's another one that fits that category. A squirrel giving me the finger

Art Photographers · Nov 13, 2011

Looks like a Great Grey! I would visit this place everyday I could personally. Thanks for sharing.

SCraig · Nov 13, 2011

Thanks. Actually visiting that spot each day is pretty easy, he was eating from my bird feeder in the backyard. He got annoyed when I opened the basement door and ran up in the tree the feeder hangs from.

Raymond J Barlow · Nov 16, 2011

Great find. Awesome shots!

SCraig · Nov 17, 2011

Thanks, I appreciate that. It was pure luck. There is no telling how many times I've walked around that area with camera in hand, and this was only the first (and second!) time I've ever seen an owl. Beautiful bird though.