Galileo will be an education bird at HawkWatch International and he will help show people, young and old, in class rooms and community centers the importance of having owls and other raptors in our environment.
Nancy Blech Matro, outgoing Hawkwatch International Board Chair, contacted me yesterday to share news with me about Galileo the Short-eared Owl I had a small part in rescuing.
Well, it finally snowed in the Salt Lake Valley last night and when I woke there was a layer of snow on the grass outside my window.
Earlier this year in January I was able to photograph a American Barn Owl in flight flying directly towards me with the snowy Promontory Mountains in the background while at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
This year was exceptional for photographing Short-eared Owls in Utah, Idaho and Montana and being able to see them in all the stages of their growth.
Yesterday I spent time photographing a cooperative yet unexpected Barn Owl at Farmington Bay, unexpected simply because Barn Owl are primarily nocturnal and I saw it during the day.
It might be a long drive in the wee hours of the morning to get to where these Burrowing Owls are in northern Utah during the breeding season but they are worth it
Last month I wrote about how surprised I was to spot a Great Horned Owl in the marsh at Bear River MBR in northern Utah and said I would post more photos later, so here they are.
I miss these young Short-eared Owls but I hope they are doing well and will return next year to breed and have young of their own.
I photographed this sleepy Great Horned Owl male sitting in a opening of the granary, he was probably exhausted from helping his mate raise their young.
I haven't been seeing the Short-eared Owls lately and that is most likely because their young are now on their own and they don't need to hunt as much because now they only need to feed themselves.
Yesterday morning I spent fifteen minutes with sibling Burrowing Owl juveniles in northern Utah not long after the sun came up and while there was still golden light.
I know that this hidden Short-eared Owl fledgling image isn't one of my best because of the grasses in front of its face and the shadow of a stem falling on its left eye but I love it.
This Short-eared Owl in flight over a wet meadow was just one of my favorite images taken yesterday in the Centennial Valley.
I went looking for a mammal species yesterday and dipped on them but hit the jackpot by getting a lifer bird, a Northern Pygmy-Owl and it had prey!
This Short-eared Owl fledgling spent a lot of time looking at the vehicle on the far side of the road parallaxing with its head tilted or bobbing up and down.
The male Short-eared Owl in Clark County, Idaho was a beauty even in the poor light.
I really liked this frame of the female Short-eared Owl stretching on a leaning fence post because of the eye contact, the view of her talons, fanned out tail and extended wing.
I know that blurs aren't everyone's cup of tea but I have grown quite fond of this beautiful, shaking, Short-eared Owl blur.
It felt amazing to be alone with these northern Utah Short-eared Owl chicks for a few brief moments yesterday.
This portrait of a Great Horned Owl chick in a hay barn might not have been taken in the most aesthetically pleasing location but I don't think the owlet gives a hoot about the rusty iron beams and corrugated metal walls.
I liked this image of the side lit Short-eared Owl more than I thought I could.
I photographed this juvenile Burrowing Owl balancing act last year in northern Utah not long after the sun came up
Six years ago today I photographed my first Short-eared Owl in low light at Bear River MBR and it was the day my obsession and fascination with these beautiful owls began.
Yesterday it was the northern Utah Short-eared Owls that made me so very glad that I am a bird photographer and that for a little while I am part of their world.
It has been a while since I photographed this Short-eared Owl in Tooele County at the James W. Fitzgerald WMA
I went looking for a Snowy Owl and got Barn Owls in flight instead at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
I am always grateful to see Barn Owls in winter and to be able to photograph them in sweet light is a delight.
It felt wonderful to spend time with this Bear River MBR American Barn Owl yesterday while the sun was shining on the refuge.
It was the first of the winter Burrowing Owls I was to find yesterday while on Antelope Island State Park.