{"id":14448,"date":"2014-02-26T05:06:29","date_gmt":"2014-02-26T12:06:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=14448"},"modified":"2025-05-08T12:49:07","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T17:49:07","slug":"a-great-horned-owl-juvenile-in-montana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/02\/26\/a-great-horned-owl-juvenile-in-montana\/","title":{"rendered":"Great Horned Owl juvenile in Montana"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"EarlyGreat Horned Owl juvenile in early morning light – Nikon D200, tripod mounted, f7.1, 1\/640, ISO 250, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Normally I prefer natural settings when I photograph birds but there are times when I believe that man made structures or features can add to an image rather than detract.<\/p>\n

Weather worn fence posts, rusty barbed wire, wood with an aged patina or rustic building structures can add interesting textures and visual appeal.<\/p>\n

I especially like the combination of old wood and owls, in this photo a juvenile Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)<\/em> is perched on an external structural beam of an old granary in Montana in warm, early morning light.<\/p>\n

My camera and lens were mounted on a tripod and the owlet was stationary so I was able to use a relatively low ISO and shutter speed.<\/p>\n

My reason for doing that is because the lower ISO produces more fine detail than if I had gone to ISO 500. I wanted to capture the details in the downy feathers of the young owl plus the details and character of the old wood.<\/p>\n

\"GreatJuvenile Great Horned Owl yawning – Nikon D200, tripod mounted, f7.1, 1\/350, ISO 250, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

A rule that bird photographers often follow is to have eye contact with the bird but I believe that rules can be broken and still produce appealing images.<\/p>\n

There may be some people who would not like the photo above because it does not have eye contact from the bird but\u00a0personally I think the image is interesting because of the wide open yawn of the immature owl and that with the bird’s eyes closed it appears to have long, dark eye lashes.<\/p>\n

So for me this photo has great appeal even though I have broken a rule. Rebel that I am. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

\"GreatImmature Great Horned Owl in a granary window – Nikon <\/span><\/span>D200, tripod mounted, f6.3, 1\/500, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

This image was taken in evening light that wasn’t quite as warm as the two owl photos above that were taken in early morning light so the wood does not appear to be as golden.<\/p>\n

The strong winds of the Montana plains have taken a toll on these old structures, the granaries lean away from the normal direction of the wind and nothing appears to be level any more.<\/p>\n

I like how the owl stands out from the very dark interior of the granary through the window, the pose of the bird and the knotty, cracked appearance of the wood.<\/p>\n

Even though I do not have direct eye contact from the young owl one of the things I like is how it appears to be gazing off in the distance and doesn’t show the least bit of concern for my presence.<\/p>\n

A pair of Great Horned Owls have raised a brood each year in these old granaries on the farm in Montana, I hope that\u00a0this year I’ll be able to photograph them again.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Great Horned Owl photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I especially like the combination of old wood and owls, in this photo a juvenile Great Horned Owl is perched on an external structural beam of an old granary in Glacier County, Montana.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":143557,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,860,209,12],"tags":[4203,1772,4049,4108,4067,4071,4206,3967,294,2415,5822,340,4193],"class_list":["post-14448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-glacier-county","category-great-horned-owls","category-montana","tag-bubo-virginianus","tag-farm","tag-granary","tag-great-horned-owl","tag-immature","tag-juvenile","tag-old-wood","tag-owl","tag-owls","tag-owls-of-montana","tag-yawn","tag-yawning","tag-young"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-juvie-granary-mia-mcpherson-6737.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-3L2","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":20812,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/03\/02\/great-horned-owl-fledgling-and-an-old-granary\/","url_meta":{"origin":14448,"position":0},"title":"Great Horned Owl fledgling and an old granary","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 2, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning winter is trying to creep back into northern Utah but I am thinking of warmer weather, Montana and Great Horned Owls.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Horned Owl fledgling and an old granary, Glacier County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-fledgling-mia-mcpherson-6731.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-fledgling-mia-mcpherson-6731.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-fledgling-mia-mcpherson-6731.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-fledgling-mia-mcpherson-6731.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8692,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/06\/24\/great-horned-owlet-in-a-granary-window\/","url_meta":{"origin":14448,"position":1},"title":"Great Horned Owlet in a granary window","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Damp fledgling Great Horned Owl in a granary window in Glacier County, Montana\u00a0","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-fledgling-mia-mcpherson-7050.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-fledgling-mia-mcpherson-7050.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-fledgling-mia-mcpherson-7050.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-fledgling-mia-mcpherson-7050.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7370,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/02\/02\/great-horned-owl-fledgling-in-a-montana-granary-window\/","url_meta":{"origin":14448,"position":2},"title":"Great Horned Owl fledgling in a Montana granary window","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In "Glacier County"","block_context":{"text":"Glacier County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/glacier-county\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Horned Owl fledgling in Glacier County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-fledgling-montana-mia-mcpherson-6831.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-fledgling-montana-mia-mcpherson-6831.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-fledgling-montana-mia-mcpherson-6831.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-fledgling-montana-mia-mcpherson-6831.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7848,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/03\/14\/great-horned-owlet-on-a-montana-farm\/","url_meta":{"origin":14448,"position":3},"title":"Great Horned Owlet on a Montana Farm","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 14, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Horned Owlet resting in Glacier County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-chick-mia-mcpherson-2010.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-chick-mia-mcpherson-2010.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-chick-mia-mcpherson-2010.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-chick-mia-mcpherson-2010.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8064,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/04\/09\/female-great-horned-owl-in-montana\/","url_meta":{"origin":14448,"position":4},"title":"Female Great Horned Owl in Montana","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 9, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"This female Great Horned Owl was resting at the opening of an old granary in Glacier County, Montana when I photographed her.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Great Horned Owl in Montana, Glacier County, Montana\u00a0","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-female-mia-mcpherson-2781.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-female-mia-mcpherson-2781.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-female-mia-mcpherson-2781.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-female-mia-mcpherson-2781.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5950,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/08\/20\/great-horned-owl-fledgling\/","url_meta":{"origin":14448,"position":5},"title":"Great Horned Owl Fledgling","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 20, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Fluffy Great Horned Owl fledgling + knotty weathered wood + large yellow eyes = Wonderful!","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Horned Owl fledgling perched in a granary window, Glacier County, Montana\u00a0","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-fledgling-mia-mcpherson-6782.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-fledgling-mia-mcpherson-6782.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-fledgling-mia-mcpherson-6782.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14448\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}