{"id":41864,"date":"2016-09-06T05:43:33","date_gmt":"2016-09-06T11:43:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=41864"},"modified":"2025-12-09T06:02:50","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T12:02:50","slug":"great-horned-owl-in-the-marsh-at-bear-river-mbr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/09\/06\/great-horned-owl-in-the-marsh-at-bear-river-mbr\/","title":{"rendered":"Great Horned Owl in the Marsh at Bear River MBR"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last month I wrote about how surprised I was to spot a Great Horned Owl in the marsh at Bear River MBR<\/span><\/a> in northern Utah and said I would post more photos later, so here they are.<\/p>\n

\"GreatGreat Horned Owl in a marsh<\/span><\/p>\n

I wrote:<\/p>\n

I saw a Great Blue Heron out in the open in the marsh of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge on the south side of the auto tour route. For a split second I looked down at my camera to check my settings and when I looked back up the heron was gone. I felt some disappointment but thought maybe the heron had just moved a little and because of that I kept my eye out for it further up the road. Just a little bit further up the road I saw a shape, feather patterns, and face that I recognized immediately but it wasn\u2019t a heron at all.<\/em><\/p>\n

What I found and pointed out was a beautiful Great Horned Owl nearly hidden in the vegetation along the marsh! I\u2019d never seen a Great Horned Owl at the wetlands of Bear River before so I was ecstatic and took way too many photos of it but it isn\u2019t every day I spot this species of owl in a marsh, so why not?<\/em><\/p>\n

I have that Great Blue Heron and my keen eyesight to thank for finding the owl because if it hadn\u2019t been for it and trying to locate it again I might not have been paying such close attention to the area I found this owl in. Thanks Great Blue!<\/em><\/p>\n

This first image shows the Great Horned Owl in the marsh taken with my D300 with the 18-200mm VR lens attached at 52mm. See the owl?<\/p>\n

\"BearBear River Marsh and a Great Horned Owl<\/span><\/p>\n

The Great Horned Owl may have been hunting in the marsh, there is no way for me to be absolutely certain of that however. But it did take me by surprise at first to see it there.<\/p>\n

Then I realized I have seen Great Horned Owls in swampy areas in Florida and near wetlands in Virginia too so maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised.<\/p>\n

\"GreatGreat Horned Owl on a pile of phragmites<\/span><\/p>\n

But this was my first time seeing a Great Horned Owl in the marshes at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a> and it was very exciting for me.<\/p>\n

\"GreatGreat Horned Owl gular fluttering behavior<\/span><\/p>\n

It was hot that day and the Great Horned Owl spent a great deal of time fluttering its gular pouch. This behavior is seen in owls, cormorants, boobies, anhingas, herons, doves, roadrunners, and members of the rail family.<\/p>\n

By opening their bills and fluttering their neck muscles they promote heat loss which helps them cool down on hot days. This is like a dog panting on a hot day to stay cool.<\/p>\n

\"GreatGreat Horned Owl in the marsh at Bear River MBR<\/span><\/p>\n

I had hoped to get flight images of the owl but one time I had looked down to change a setting when it lifted off for another mound dead phragmites and the second time when it flew off deeper into the marsh all I got were butt shots.<\/p>\n

Oh well.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> 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":"

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. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":143596,"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":[124,27,1148,209,26],"tags":[4004,4226,2663,4203,4108,5412,3970,4094,3967,294,4353,4059,2315,4095],"class_list":["post-41864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-great-horned-owls","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-behavior","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-bubo-virginianus","tag-great-horned-owl","tag-gular-fluttering","tag-hunting","tag-marsh","tag-owl","tag-owls","tag-owls-of-utah","tag-phragmites","tag-summer-3","tag-wetlands"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/great-horned-owl-marsh-mia-mcpherson-1880.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-aTe","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":41187,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/08\/20\/post-breeding-season-aggressive-behavior-in-american-avocets-plus-a-bonus-great-horned-owl\/","url_meta":{"origin":41864,"position":0},"title":"Post-breeding Season Aggressive Behavior in American Avocets Plus a Bonus Great Horned Owl","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 20, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I am unable to find information on line about why this male American Avocet attacked the female so aggressively but I can say that it was fascinating to see and photograph it.","rel":"","context":"In "American Avocets"","block_context":{"text":"American Avocets","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/shorebirds\/american-avocets\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male American Avocet being aggressive with the female, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/american-avocets-fighting-mia-mcpherson-0444.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/american-avocets-fighting-mia-mcpherson-0444.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/american-avocets-fighting-mia-mcpherson-0444.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/american-avocets-fighting-mia-mcpherson-0444.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":109015,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/12\/31\/my-2022-year-in-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":41864,"position":1},"title":"My 2022 Year In Review","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 31, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"On this last day of the year it is time for my annual 2022 Year in Review post. 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McPherson","date":"November 6, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"By having the American Barn Owls smaller in the frame in my photos I can share more visual information about where these beautiful owls live, hunt and thrive.","rel":"","context":"In "American Barn Owls"","block_context":{"text":"American Barn Owls","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/owls\/barn-owls\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Foggy, snowy American Barn Owl in flight, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/barn-owl-fog-snow-mia-mcpherson-1777.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/barn-owl-fog-snow-mia-mcpherson-1777.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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