{"id":98262,"date":"2021-12-18T06:03:18","date_gmt":"2021-12-18T13:03:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=98262"},"modified":"2024-08-16T05:13:10","modified_gmt":"2024-08-16T10:13:10","slug":"barn-owl-covered-in-hoar-frost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/12\/18\/barn-owl-covered-in-hoar-frost\/","title":{"rendered":"American Barn Owl Covered In Hoar Frost"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AmericanAmerican Barn Owl covered in hoar frost \u2013\u00a0 D200, f7.1, 1\/125, ISO 320, +0.3 step EV, 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

This American Barn Owl covered in hoar frost was taken during my first full winter living in Utah and it was also the subject of my first blog post<\/span><\/a> here on my site. I took this photo on December 19, 2009 so almost twelve years ago.<\/p>\n

Watching and photographing this frost covered American Barn Owl was a new experience for me because I had moved to Utah from sunny and much warmer Florida where I could get into the water to photograph birds practically year round.<\/p>\n

It was foggy the morning I photographed this owl, snow was falling, and the lighting conditions were poor. I figured if the owl could stand up to the bitter cold I could too and that maybe living in Utah would be good for me as far as bird photography goes.<\/p>\n

Yet I felt bad for the owl because it was so cold and looking at its frost covered face made me shiver.<\/p>\n

Winters have changed since I moved to Utah because the snow doesn’t fall as often and it doesn’t come down as heavy either. Snow pack levels in the mountains has been low for several years and it has been warmer in the winter than what is “normal” for this time of the year.<\/p>\n

Even the hoar frost doesn’t build up as thick anymore. I suspect winters might be easier for American Barn Owls like this one now but I don’t really know for sure. I do know that I don’t see Barn Owls as often as I used to during the winter so that could mean they are able to hunt primarily at night instead of having to hunt during the day to eat enough just to survive.<\/p>\n

This owl did make a huge impression on me because it was tough enough to withstand the brutal winter nights out in the marshes and wetlands of Farmington Bay. The birds that stick around in northern Utah for the winter are all tough and amazing.<\/p>\n

I like going back and processing older images because I have learned so much more about my subjects than I knew when I photographed them originally plus the older photos are an intrinsic part of my journey as a bird photographer. It’s all good.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

This Barn Owl covered in hoar frost was taken during my first full winter living in Utah and it was also the subject of my first blog post here on my site.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":98254,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[129,27,1022,697,26],"tags":[4004,3985,970,5009,5795,4620,4175,3984,3983,4201,4094,3967,294,4104,4681,4050,4328,5483,49,12642,4095],"class_list":["post-98262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-barn-owls","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-barn-owl","tag-autumn","tag-bitter-cold","tag-cold","tag-fall","tag-fog","tag-foggy","tag-frost","tag-hoar-frost","tag-marsh","tag-owl","tag-owls","tag-perched","tag-sign","tag-snow","tag-snowy","tag-tough","tag-tyto-furcata","tag-waterfowl-sign","tag-wetlands"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/barn-owl-hoar-frost-mia-mcpherson-1513.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-pyS","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":182,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2010\/01\/15\/frost-covered-barn-owl\/","url_meta":{"origin":98262,"position":0},"title":"Frost-covered American Barn Owl","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 15, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"This was taken on an early December morning, there was heavy, dismal fog and at times a light snow was falling. The hoar frost was still clinging to the feathers and the facial disc of the Barn Owl.","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":"Frost covered American Barn Owl, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-frost-mia-mcpherson-1509.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-frost-mia-mcpherson-1509.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-frost-mia-mcpherson-1509.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7122,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/01\/14\/barn-owls-and-harsh-winters\/","url_meta":{"origin":98262,"position":1},"title":"American Barn Owls and Harsh Winters","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 14, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"American Barn Owls are typically strictly nocturnal but during harsh winters with lots of snow they do hunt during the day here in Utah.","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":"American Barn Owl flying over a marsh in winter, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-flight-winter-snowy-mia-mcpherson-9479.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-flight-winter-snowy-mia-mcpherson-9479.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-flight-winter-snowy-mia-mcpherson-9479.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-flight-winter-snowy-mia-mcpherson-9479.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11844,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/12\/13\/a-frosted-farmington-bay-wildlife-management-area\/","url_meta":{"origin":98262,"position":2},"title":"Frosted Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 13, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I have mentioned in recent posts that winter can be harsh in the Salt Lake Valley in posts with images I had taken at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area so I wanted to share these two images taken there yesterday.","rel":"","context":"In "Davis County"","block_context":{"text":"Davis County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/davis-county-utah\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Hoar frost covered tree at Farmington Bay WMA in Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/farmington-bay-wma-hoar-frost-mia-mcpherson-7317.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/farmington-bay-wma-hoar-frost-mia-mcpherson-7317.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/farmington-bay-wma-hoar-frost-mia-mcpherson-7317.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/farmington-bay-wma-hoar-frost-mia-mcpherson-7317.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7499,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/02\/11\/more-barn-owl-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":98262,"position":3},"title":"More American Barn Owl images","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 11, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Perched American Barn Owl images might not be as dynamic as those when the owl's are in flight but I enjoy them just as much as I do those with more action.","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":"American Barn Owl flying close up, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-flying-mia-mcpherson-9462.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-flying-mia-mcpherson-9462.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-flying-mia-mcpherson-9462.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-flying-mia-mcpherson-9462.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6423,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/10\/25\/winters-first-snow\/","url_meta":{"origin":98262,"position":4},"title":"Winter’s First Snow","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 25, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"As I write this the first snow of winter is falling outside my living room window. For the past week I have seen the snow on the mountain tops and I had been looking forward to seeing the snow covering the Salt Lake Valley.","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":"Antelope Island after a fresh snow, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/antelope-island-snow-mia-mcpherson-6399.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/antelope-island-snow-mia-mcpherson-6399.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/antelope-island-snow-mia-mcpherson-6399.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/antelope-island-snow-mia-mcpherson-6399.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17816,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/12\/17\/winter-barn-owl-on-a-gray-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":98262,"position":5},"title":"Winter American Barn Owl On A Gray Day","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 17, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Still waiting for snow here in the Salt Lake Valley so I am posting another snowy image of a Barn Owl taken in December of 2013.","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":"Winter American Barn Owl on a gray day perched on some phragmites, northern Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/barn-owl-snowy-mia-mcpherson-1891.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/barn-owl-snowy-mia-mcpherson-1891.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/barn-owl-snowy-mia-mcpherson-1891.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/barn-owl-snowy-mia-mcpherson-1891.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98262","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=98262"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98262\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}