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Published: 2013-07-08 21:10:47 +0000 UTC; Views: 1444; Favourites: 80; Downloads: 0
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Last week, I heard a lot of noise behind my house - the Crows and Jays were going crazy for a good five minutes. They usually do this when a predator is in the area - either a Hawk, Cat or Bear. I went into the woods to see who they were mobbing and to my surprise it was a Great Horned Owl! This is the first Owl I've seen back there (I only heard an Eastern Screech-Owl before). The Owl stuck around at least through dark after he finally tucked away in the tree tops. I was able to get this photo through the leaves before he went up high.See my related blog post .
Vestal, New York
Canon 7D / EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
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© Melissa Mancuso Penta // All Rights Reserved
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Comments: 36
The owl is beautiful. Its eyes are so big, piercing, and intense. The owls composition is wonderful for a portrait. I think the foliage is what really makes the photo though. The depth that's created by the pine is great. The blurry foreground and background. I would like to have seen this in a landscape/wide angle, with the owl off center. Letting the eye wonder and discover the owl much like you did, creating a flow and energy to the photo. I'm glad you didn't run into a bear, the owl is far more special in my opinion. Good job. I like it, thank you for sharing.
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It's reassuring that you like the foliage - I was thinking that it was a bit distracting since some of it is in focus and some is not. I guess it could make it interesting though. Thanks for taking the time to rate and write out a critique!!
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Your welcome. Thank you for reading my opinion.
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He's a cutie. Looks like you took him by surprise.
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Thanks! He was being harassed by crows - I was probably the last thing on his mind
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crows do tend to mob owls. when i was looking for an owl with a parent, i started telling my parent that the crows are mobbing something, and that crows mob owls. we didn't get too close, because the bird was flying around, dodging crows. i knew it was a barn owl because we live in the great plains, and the owl was brown on top and had a white stomach and flat face. the parent still thinks it was a hawk though.
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A Barn Owl!! That's one that I have not seen yet - I am just north of their range.
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Don't ya just love it when all of the little birds get so excited and/or dive bomb these guys?! Let's us know they are there. This is a terrific shot! I'd love to have one in my backyard!!! By the way, where is this?
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They found him again today too! This time I really had to use the Crows to find him because he was hidden so well (they were diving at a blob behind branches and leaves, I eventually got a quick glance at a face). This is in upstate NY.
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Oh you've NO idea how jealous I am right now!!!! Can you please send him to Indiana????
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Maybe one will come to your neighborhood. My neighbor told me that one used to be in the area before I moved here. So it IS good habitat here
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my dad was driving down the road from our house, called me, and said he thought he saw an owl on the road. my mom drove me down the street, and we saw an adorable baby screech owl just standing there. it was funny, because the closer we got, the more he opened his wide yellow eyes. i say in a week or so, he should have been molting, and branching. sadly there was no mom around, so we tried to get it in a box to take it to a center. we tried to do it carefully, but it kept jumping out of the box, and gliding down. we eventually stuck it in a tree with a big gash in it. I'm still concerned about it. I've never seen it again, and there were actually cats around. i should post a picture of it soon.
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I've had hawks but never a Great Horned Owl. A Screech Owl, yes. But I live in Indiana and in a city at that.....
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Amazing and so very beautiful
I really like the look of the owl hehe
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Wonderful shot Melissa!
Wow you were lucky to have gotten this shot.When I see them they just either fly off or hide in the pine branches.
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Thank you! I really do think it was lucky too - I happened to climb to the right area that had a wide open shot! The Owl was too busy paying attention to the smaller birds.
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That's cool. I got that Hawk pic when it was preoccupied with the small birds, and didn't even see me sneak in close...I love it when that happens>
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Wow, the morphs that occur in your area look a bit different from the ones I've seen up in Canada. They seem much more brown/red.
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I'm not sure what different morphs there may be. It could be that this one was possibly a bit younger (someone also said the younger ones are larger looking)
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Your comment inspired me to change the title
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Lol. The smaller birds had him wide awake!
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peace and quiet don't mix with the little ones.
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