· Land · 3 min read
Great Horned Owl Encounter
I’ve been visiting a nearby conservation land to find some wildlife to capture with my new M.Zuiko 150-600mm telephoto lens. I was mainly looking for beavers but one day I was walking down into the area when I looked up just as an owl took off from right over my head. I watched it fly over by the water and wandered that direction to take a look. I followed the sound of bird alarms to find it perched on a branch. There was no clear line of sight, so this was the best shot I could get.
I went back the next morning to look for the owl again and followed the sound of blue jay alarms to find one perched high up in a pine tree getting divebombed by the blue jays. I managed to capture this image, which really shows the situation.
Upon reviewing the photos, it became clear I had seen two different individuals! It seems likely the first is an offspring of the second.
I didn’t make it back until a few days later and wandered the whole area not really seeing much of anything. As I walking toward the car, I heard blue jay alarms again. I turned to see an owl flee the attacking blue jays. It flew over to a new patch of trees, but appeared to miss the landing and go crashing down through the branches. I lost sight of it, but decided to go investigate. I cautiously walked down the path in the area mostly looking up, but then I spotted the juvenile at the base of a tree near the edge of the path.
The owl seemed physically fine, although (understandably) agitated by my presence - it clicked its beak in warning, which was a new sound for me. I snapped a few quick pictures and walked away to let it recover. I circled back a few minutes later to check if it had managed to move and fortunately it had! It didn’t manage to fly away, but it had hopped down the away from the trail a little ways and still seemed alert, which was great to see. As much as I wanted to stick around and take more pictures of this incredible animal, it was time to go. This encounter lasted mere moments, but I’ll never forget it!
I have visited a few times since, but didn’t find either owl. I’ll keep at it because I’d love to get confirmation that the juvenile is OK. I will report back!
Here are a few more images. Prints can be found on my website.
