I have heard owls hooting at night over the years. There are plenty of trees in this area as well as abundant small prey for them in the form of countless squirrels, chipmunks, mice, voles, moles, shrews, and other critters. But, I have never spotted an owl, since they tend to be more reclusive than other birds.
So, imagine my surprise when I opened my back door yesterday morning and peered out to see an owl perched in a tree right beside my house! It was very close, probably no more than 10 feet/meters from my back door! As soon as I saw it, I briefly froze, with my mind racing as to how to get a photo without spooking it into flight.
I quickly zipped across the room to grab my cellphone, then went back to the door. Without sticking my head outside again, I activated the camera on my phone and slid it out just enough so the camera lens was clear of the door frame. I used the screen to sight the owl and zoom-in, then pressed the button to take the pic. Then, I made a second pic just to be sure I got it. If I'd had any sense about me, I would have silenced the phone first, as the "shutter sound" apparently alerted the owl that I was there, as the second pic showed its head slightly turned in my direction.
Then, I quietly raced through the house to a window looking out at the tree, hoping to get an even better pic. By the time I got to the window, however, the bird had flown. So, no other pics were available to be taken. 😢
Not being very knowledgeable about owls, I had no clue what species it might be, so I turned to an online search. I perused several websites that told of owls that might be spotted in my area and carefully looked at the pics shown. I also considered the size of the owl I saw with the written descriptions online. None of the pics matched perfectly, but the closest I found was the Short-Eared Owl, (Asio flammeus). [1]
Birds can be quite difficult to identify sometimes for a couple of reasons. First, plumage can vary slightly by season, and some birds appear different in winter versus summer. Second, many bird species exhibit sexual dimorphism, where the females and males have different colorations. So, unless a website shows photos of both females and males, it can hamper identification.[2]
Fortunately, this species doesn't display sexual dimorphism other than the females typically being a bit larger than the males, and the plumage doesn't seem to change with the seasons.[3] That leaves me at a bit of a loss as to why the wings appear more black in the one that visited my house than the dark-brown wings in online photos.[1] The color difference might just be a trick of my own eyes, the ambient lighting, or maybe it's not a Short-Eared Owl after all, but yet another species. If any owl aficionados have other specie suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them!
😊SOURCES
1 Audubon.org: Short-Eared Owl
2 Wikipedia: Sexual Dimorphism
3 Wikipedia: Short-Eared Owl
𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝟏𝟎𝟎% 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧-𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧, 𝐛𝐲 𝐦𝐞, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐀𝐈 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞.
𝙳𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚛: 𝚈𝚎𝚜, 𝙸 𝚊𝚖 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚟𝚎-𝟷𝟶𝟼𝟺𝟺𝟺 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢 ("𝙵𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝙵𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚜"). 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚖𝚢 𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚚𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚞𝚜𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎, 𝚜𝚘 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚒𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚛 𝚗𝚘𝚝. 𝙰𝚕𝚜𝚘, 𝚖𝚢 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚎 𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚒𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚊𝚜𝚎.
14-Mar-2023
Thanks @beeber! All bird posts are welcome in Feathered Friends! Bird art, bird poetry and stories, even photos of backyard chicken flocks! Your wonderful owl would have been right at home there and some of the very knowledgeable Bird Watchers there could have likely answered your questions!
I was afraid to try it, as most of the photos in hive-106444 are so technically perfect and up-close, they look like they came from a professional photographer's collection, and maybe those who post in the group are professionals? There's no way I can begin to compete with the shots in this post, for instance.
I can't compete either! Some of these photographers sit in blinds in the woods with special equipment to get these shots! My backyard bird photos will never compare, but we all love seeing the birds that live all around the world and learn about how wonderful nature is!
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Oh he/she is so FLUFFY! AHHHHHHH
A sleepy fluffy owl is medicine for the soul. 😍 I can so picture you tiptoeing back to the door sheepishly, then realizing you've been noticed anyhow. 🤣 Legit me too every time I try to photograph any cool animal 😫 !LOLZ
Thanks for sharing these awesome photos and owl facts! 😁 !LUV !LADY !PIZZA !PIMP
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Glad that you got a chance to picturing the owl, looks super cute at the same time! Strange how I never see it shows up during the day time at all.
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Awesome shots of a beautiful bird. Maybe it will come back and visit more often. Maybe this is it's territory. 🤞🤞😁😁
You Lucky to Spot Owl... I've heard it is rare to spot em... I haven't seen any.. tho, I'm human version night owl. !LOL
Honestly, This is the hardest thing and Glad you Got one.
Ops. Maybeeee next time.. Go for video.. would !LUV to see live reaction. Hehe!
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Wow! This is a gift to get glimpse of such an amazing being. I have only seen one in a zoo, I think. I could be thinking of a stuffed one somewhere. I thought they only showed up at night. Such a nice area and looks warm.
oh, that reminds me of something I forgot to mention in the post! If it was, indeed, a Short-Eared Owl, they are more active during the daytime, instead of dawn/dusk like most owls!
That's so interesting. 😀
Did he drop off your acceptance to Hogwarts? :D
Rare to see them out and about. Lucky you!
One of my favourite birds and yes... their call is hypnotic.
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Beautiful gift !
What great chance you had to take at least those pictures! Maybe she will be there in your tree again.
I love owls and their eyes !LUV
Think the feathered friends is just for bird lovers, not only for perfect photos and specifications, probably @melinda010100 knows?
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There’s one by me that is loud as hell some nights. I can’t believe how loud they are. Nice shot
One night a couple months ago, I heard an owl hooting at night that sounded so very loud, I wondered if it was on top of my house. I opened the door and stepped out onto the patio and heard it again, in a tree that was probably 50 feet or more away! Very loud, indeed! 😮
Oh wow... isn't she a beauty!!! She is definitely a big owl, that's for sure... see that's probably as far as my knowledge of owls goes !LOLZ... we used to have one that lived in a Jacaranda tree outside our house in South Africa. It had a nest in the hollow of the trunk where all the major lower branches started. We would see her occasionally up on the telephone poles when she was out and about. We loved our little neighbour. She was a decent size owl too but not as big as this one looks. What a blessing to catch her so close up, Kitty 💗!Sorry I only just saw this post... I found it on @thealliance's latest Rise and Grind Issue #3 by @grindan !LUV !ALIVE !LADY
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@thekittygirl...
You know, I loved your post. But l loved the sourcing even more! Always good to cover our backsides... yes? Anyway...
Ever since I moved to where I live now (the woods lol) we've had what I have always just called a "Hoot Owl", that loves to sing at night. While we have never "seen the owl" I can only guess that it's a Great Horned Owl, as the tune he carries goes with this description:
This post just makes me smile because I have always loved owls! I think that probably came from the time my mom took me to see the original "Clash of the Titans". You know... that cute owl Bubo. A mechanical owl!! Who wouldn't LOVE that lol! Maybe one day, I will try and get a photograph. Anywho... despite the excitement, and shutter sound getting his attention (still a great photo) I think this was an awesome experience on your end. Thank you for sharing this with us... maybe you will get another visit soon!
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A gorgeous sight and excellent snaps with your cellphone! That short-eared owl looks to be quite large. Was it about the size of a small dog? @thekittygirl
I'm glad you didn't find the owl hanging out in your garage!🦉🙂
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I've not see one during the day but one use to sleep on a tree in my compound, it sounds will notify you of it present.
Till next time, it will surely come back, thanks for sharing and have a wonderful day.
Here in our place we seldom see owl because they were not common here in our locality.
very nice bit of photography. I am not very knowledgeable of owls, and the few I have seen where I live I've only spotted at night, so I have no clue as to what type of bird you got there. Looks nice though. Thanks for sharing
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