{"id":3782,"date":"2011-12-01T17:28:44","date_gmt":"2011-12-02T00:28:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=3782"},"modified":"2026-03-29T08:42:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T13:42:08","slug":"double-delight-and-an-observation-great-horned-owls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/12\/01\/double-delight-and-an-observation-great-horned-owls\/","title":{"rendered":"Double Delight and an Observation – Great Horned Owls"},"content":{"rendered":"

Great Horned Owls<\/h2>\n

\"Great\u00a0Great Horned Owl – November 11, 2011 –\u00a0Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/1000, ISO 400, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited or set up<\/span><\/p>\n

Normally I think of myself as very observant. I often see birds in the field before the other photographers who might be in the field with me.<\/p>\n

I can spot just a part of an animal and know that they are there. When I am in the field my eyes are constantly scanning my surroundings on the land and in the air.<\/p>\n

I’ve gotten to know several locations very well and can spot a bump on a sagebrush that shouldn’t be there that turns out to be a bird. I once noticed a rock that looked out of place. Well it was a very dark Porcupine.<\/p>\n

But I have found that sometimes I need to fine tune my vision even further.<\/p>\n

On the 11th of November I spotted this Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus<\/em>) in a Tamarisk and photographed it. After seeing where it was perched I started to routinely look for it from a road above where the owl has been roosting.<\/p>\n

On the 22nd of November I saw a familiar shape in the same Tamarisk and went down to photograph what I believed to be the same owl that I had photographed on November 11th.<\/p>\n

\"GreatGreat Horned Owl – November 22, 2011 –\u00a0Nikon f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 640, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited or set up<\/span><\/p>\n

I took many images of the owl I spotted on the 22nd of November and though I wished then that the bird had chosen a more open location to roost I was happy with the images I took.<\/p>\n

After editing a few images from the second session with the Great Horned Owl in the Tamarisk I uploaded three of the images to my photo galleries and when I went to the gallery to verify that they had uploaded correctly I saw somethings immediately that I had not<\/em> seen in the field.<\/p>\n

The Great Horned Owl I photographed on November 22nd was NOT the same owl I had photographed on November 11th.<\/p>\n

When I had the images side by side I quickly noticed that the owl I photographed on November 11th had rustier coloration in the facial disk, forehead and body. That owl also has more barring of the chest.<\/p>\n

The Great Horned Owl I photographed on November 11th had more white on the chest, less barring and the facial disk was grayer.<\/p>\n

I’m excited that two Great Horned Owls are using the same roosting location and from now on I will be looking more closely to determine which of the two I am seeing.<\/p>\n

Who knows; maybe I’ll be surprised and spot a third owl in that same location.<\/p>\n

Life is good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

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

I’m excited that two Great Horned Owls are using the same roosting location on Antelope Island. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":143493,"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":[511,27,1022,209,26],"tags":[4004,970,2663,4203,11978,4620,4070,4108,4062,4035,4281,3967,294,1110],"class_list":["post-3782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-great-horned-owls","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-autumn","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-bubo-virginianus","tag-desert-island","tag-fall","tag-female","tag-great-horned-owl","tag-male","tag-nature-photography","tag-observation","tag-owl","tag-owls","tag-vision"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-nov-11-mia-mcpherson-8209.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-Z0","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":122678,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/03\/05\/great-horned-owl-chick-in-coastal-florida\/","url_meta":{"origin":3782,"position":0},"title":"Great Horned Owl Chick In Coastal Florida","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 5, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"This image of a Great Horned Owl chick resting near its nest on the coast Florida in lovely afternoon light brings back wonderful memories for me. 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I never saw them, but that call cut through the New Year darkness.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Horned Owl adult on Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-adult-antelope-island-mia-mcpherson-8190.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-adult-antelope-island-mia-mcpherson-8190.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-adult-antelope-island-mia-mcpherson-8190.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-adult-antelope-island-mia-mcpherson-8190.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":133770,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/09\/04\/great-horned-owl-mystery\/","url_meta":{"origin":3782,"position":3},"title":"Great Horned Owl Mystery – Things That Go Hoot In The Night","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 4, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday morning, while it was still pitch dark outside, I heard a bird call. Then, I heard a Great Horned Owl hooting. 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