Yesterday a family of Loggerhead Shrikes kept us busy for a bit as the juveniles begged the adults to feed them and the adults were hunting food to bring to the rather noisy youngsters on Antelope Island State Park.
I'm extremely fond of owls, it might be their forward facing eyes that draws me to them. Of course I love all birds but to me owls are special.
People are fascinated by owls, I know I am. It might be that owls have forward facing eyes like this Great Horned Owlet. Those eyes truly draw a person in.
Currently throughout the breeding range of Great Horned Owls the owls have either begun to nest or have nested already. Great Horned Owls have a large range and are found in the U.S., Canada and Central America.
This fledgling Burrowing Owl was just learning to fly at the time and wasn't always great at landing. When I took this image it had made a soft crash landing into the Rabbitbrush and it was trying to get its balance back.
Fluffy Great Horned Owl fledgling + knotty weathered wood + large yellow eyes = Wonderful!
Let's face it some butt shots aren't very pretty but some can be awfully darned cute!
I've selected a few Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) images taken a few years ago to post today.
This very cooperative juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk was used to the people who frequented Sawgrass County Park and it would land very close to humans.
My friends say when my images have such a low angle that I must have been "Down 'n dirty". Well I know for sure I was dirty, I had sand everywhere!
Sometimes I just feel so lucky being a bird photographer. Not only do I get to be outside in nature when I am photographing, but I get nice surprises too like when this Long-billed Curlew juvenile approached near enough to get head shots of it.
The photographs I have attached to this post are of the same Great Horned Owl fledgling, taken in the same location on the same morning.