We had a terrific walk at the wetlands yesterday! The place is really beginning to come alive and we saw a lot of stuff. For once, I will restrain myself and not try to put it all in one post.
The greatest thing of the day was when Mike spotted this owl as we were heading back through the woods to leave. He had the camera and took the first shots.
He had to practically yell at me to get my attention....I was walking ahead....but luckily didn't scare it away! Isn't it beautiful???? Looking in the guide, I think it is a Barred Owl, unless someone knows better.
He flew to another tree and the sun came out to light him up good.
I just couldn't stop taking photos....of course.
Looking over his other shoulder. He finally flew to a tree even further away, so I left him alone. I thought it was odd that he was out in the daytime.
He was sitting near this nest when we first saw him, but I don't think it is his.There were about 20-30 swallows swooping over the marsh and lake area and I discovered that I am not good at taking photos of fast moving birds....not at all. I don't know what the trick is, but I sure didn't get any good ones!
This is my best shot, because the bird stopped to rest.....the flying one was a bonus! I can not figure out what sort of swallow this is......I'm sure it was one of the bunch that were swooping the lake back and forth for insects. Tree Swallow maybe?
One of my half way focused shots.....I'd say this is a Barn Swallow.
...but this one is something else.
If anyone can figure out what they are from the poor shots, I'd love to know. It was amazing the way they swooped and zipped past at full speed. I just wish I could figure out how to get some better photos! I got these by setting it to take multiple photos and then focused on the area they were swooping through.
Some have white bellies and some have the reddish bellies.
I finally gave up and went home.
More stuff tomorrow....stay tuned!
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19 comments:
Great sighting of the owl - there's one (a tawney, not a barred) in the trees behing our house, hooting during the day as well a sthe night, but can I see it? No way!
An owl!! WOW!! He is beautiful Mary!! A great capture too.
Lovely Owl Mary.
Swallows - Hmm!! you have to get lucky with them speed merchants. Look for somewhere that they nest and they usually have somewhere close that they perch.
Great Barred Owl Mary. I hope I hope I have them in my woods. The swallows are hard to tell. Barn have long tail feathers. There are quite a few that they could be. I bet there were more than one kind there.
That owl is a beauty.Taking in flight photos of these fast moving birds is a challenge.
Blessings,Ruth
Kingsdower: This was the best owl I have ever seen, so I was excited. I hope you find that illusive one in your trees. Pinpointing sounds are so hard. We sometime hear one somewhere around our house, but I don't know where.
Joan: Thanks! I was excited...and he posed so nicely.
Roy:I'm glad to know that it is hard and not just me, although your flight shots are always wonderful. I see photos of them in other blogs that look great. I was tickeled that one sat on the boardwalk, or I wouldn't have gotten any good shots at all.
Eve: I hope you have owls, too. I looking forward to all your new discoveries. There appeared to be at least 2 kinds of swallows.
Ruth:Thanks! When you are a "point and shoot" photographer like me, if they don't hold still, you are out of luck.
Everyone seems to be seeing owls (lucky you) ... just not us. Sigh. Not even any signs of owls.
Cicero: That's how I felt for a long time....this is my first real owl in the wild that I could see and take photos of! You'll find one! I wouldn't have seen this one, if Mike hadn't spotted it!
Mary: Wonderful photos of the owl, really nice. I think you did a great job on those swooping swallows. They are so hard to follow.
I'm soooo glad you finally got to see and also photograph an owl in the wild Mary! (-: Great shots! I haven't even tried taking photos of fast flying birds like Swallows, your ones are really good I think. The bigger the bird, the easier it is. The Swallow on the bridge thing is a Northern rough-winged Swallow. The flying ones look like barn (pinky breast)and tree Swallows (clean white breast). A really great days birding!
Mike has sharp eyes. That Owl must have been hard to see. He blends in so well with the tree. I'm still waiting to see owls. No luck, but then again the weather hasn't been all that cooperative. Maybe next week.
B.
Tom: I need to learn to swoop faster to keep up :-)
Jenny: The owl was such a thrill. I knew you would offer some identificatons on the swallows :-) I wondered about Northern rough-wing for that one sitting, but since the other flying white bellied ones looked like tree swallows, I thought they were probably the same. Nothing in my Sibley book really looks exactly like that one that is sitting.
Becky: Mike has very sharp eyes...he is always seeing things I don't. I was scanning the ground lower down....maybe because I'm short and he is tall! Today is really cold again, but it is suppose to be 80 by Friday!
Great catch on the owl!! I can never seem to find one!
Cool owl! Some of your swallows are tree swallows.
Great owl photos. I would be so excited I wouldn't get one in focus at all. Great capture.
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Shelly: I hope we see it again sometime, now that I know it was there once.
NorthWest Birds: Thanks! The swallows were really fast and busy...fun to watch, but hard to photograph!
Leedra: You sneaked in while I was posting the other answers! Yes, it was really exciting and if Mike had seen it and I hadn't I would have been very upset, so I'm glad it was a patient owl!
Owls do it to me every time, just great!
I agree with you about it being the Barred Owl...wonderful captures.
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