I was wrong to assume that nothing could top the experience of chasing Ospreys and Snail Kites in Florida. This was obvious when we shifted gears to take pictures of not one but two different species of Owls.
The decision to shoot owls on my first trip was a spontaneous one - we only decided when we chanced on a Great Horned Owl that was being mobbed by a couple of cawing American Crows while we were returning from shooting the Snail Kites and it was already getting dark.
Chasing owls lead us to two distinct and unexpected locations - one a parking lot and another a suburban residential area while I was assuming that we would end up in a State Park of some kind.
The parking lot was not our first stop that day but we ended up spending all day there as it was just fascinating to watch and observe this family of Great Horned Owls.
The picture on the left is of the Mom who was perched on a branch across from the three chicks. She would wake up every few minutes and check on her chicks from time to time by calling them out.
The picture above is of one of the chicks that responded and joined her mom. It was obvious that the chicks were just learning to fly and it was definitely an amazing experience to watch nature in action.
Throughout the day the adult Great Horned Owls kept calling each other and it was fun to watch the reaction of the chicks. The adult make had a deeper voice compared to the female but was deep inside the tree so we never had a clear shot of him.
We had a clearer view of the chicks and I was able to take quite a few pictures of them. The one on the right here is my favorite. It seems as if a family intervention is in progress where the one on the left is the elder sibling reprimanding the other two younger siblings.
We started that day fairly early in the morning looking for some of the smallest owls around - the Burrowing Owls that have built their nests in the middle of a Suburban Residential Area. I thought that was surreal.
The Burrowing Owls are considered Endangered in some states in the US and it was comforting to see some simple steps being taken in Florida to save this species. But nevertheless, their populations have been declining over the years.
An interesting thing I noticed later that afternoon when I saw the Great Horned Owls that the Burrowing Owls lack ear tufts which makes their appearance a bit funny.
In contrast to other owl species, these owls mostly hunt during the day.
A fun fact I learnt is that these owls are also known as 'Howdy Owls' in some parts of the country due to how they stick their heads out of their burrows and nod up and down. They do that when they perceive a threat. Which I do not think was the case when I took this picture to the right as they were not nodding their heads and seemed as if they were soaking up the morning sun and getting ready for the day.
After a day chasing these owls I still feel there is more to learn about these beautiful birds. I am looking forward to an opportunity to shoot more pictures of not just these but other species of owls. I hope that opportunity comes sooner rather than later and when it comes, I will definitely share that experience with you again.
Cheers!