Tuesday, December 14, 2010

The Owl at My Window



I decided to take a break from pecking away at the keyboard this afternoon, walked over to the window, and spotted this majestic-looking creature. A little research revealed that this bird is most likely a barred owl. The wings stretched out an impressive width when he flew away, and sure enough, the wing span can reach 45 inches wide.

25 comments:

Naomi Johnson said...

I am so jealous. I have never seen an owl that wasn't in captivity. He's a beauty, too.

pattinase (abbott) said...

I am in awe.

Anonymous said...

He look not real....oh my...God's work is beautiful and you captured it on photo....thanks for sharing....sg

Ron Scheer said...

The amazing part is that you got pics of this magnificent bird. I've seen owls here in the desert. Generally not in the daytime, though.

Kieran Shea said...

deep symbolism there, get creating.

David Cranmer said...

Naomi, This is the first I've been this close. From a distance and in a zoo but never right outside my window.

Patti, That describes it.

sg, There was an unreal quality about him/her with those dark eyes. And amazing the speed at which he rotated his head.

Ron, Yeah, it was about 2:40 pm. I kept muttering "don't let me lose this shot, don't let me lose this shot" as I scrambled for the new fangled camera I haven't figured out.

Kieran, You ain't a-kiddin'. I'm up before four shoveling shit from a sitting position.

Deka Black said...

Here, what i see is a lot of crows nested in a pine tree near the building where i live.

And a lot of storks too. A lot.

Sarah Laurence said...

Wow! The owl doesn’t look real on the post. Terrific photos. I just love owls.

Leah J. Utas said...

Nice work on the pics. How blessed you were with this visit.

Dave King said...

Is that fabulous or is that fabulous?

Anonymous said...

cool Dave, once we had a snowy white owl in the backyard. It was like time stood still for over an hour as we watched him until he flew away. Some of God's best work.
Mates

Charles Gramlich said...

Gotta love that. I've seldom seen one so close in the wild.

David Cranmer said...

Deka, Snap some photos and join in on the Photo Finish Friday some of us writers participate in weekly. We’d enjoy seeing what you do and talking about it.

Sarah, I wish I had turned on the video and caught him flying away. Or tape his head zooming around which was pretty darn cool as well.

Leah, I’m going to see if he visits again today.

Dave, Fab indeed.

Mates, Yeah, I would have stayed as long as Mr. or Mrs. Owl did too. Transfixed is the word.

Charles, It was a little clouded out and I suspect Owl was on the hunt.

Reb said...

Just lovely David. They are my favourite birds.

Mike Wilkerson said...

Cool. The owl is one of those species that you don't really know what you're seeing, the first time you come upon one in their natural habitat. And they're big. I mean, some of those fuckers can get huge!

Thanks for the pic.

David Cranmer said...

Reb, I'm thinking we are simpatico about owls. Though, hummingbiirds are fairly high on my list too.

Mike, You’re on the money. We have countless turkeys in the area and at first glance I thought that’s what it was. I did a double take and it took a moment for my pea-brain to register.

Travis Erwin said...

Very cool. My wife is especially enamored with owls.

Redbush said...

Oh, how lucky you are! I would love to get a picture of and owl that close. Great photos!

Cloudia said...

WoW!!!!!!





Aloha from Hawaii

Comfort Spiral

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AC said...

Amazing.

David Barber said...

Awesome, David. I am jelous. I got a photo of a barn owl earlier this year but it was too far away and the photo wasn't worth s#!t!!

Clare2e said...

I love owls, and this is a wonderful sight. My grandmother started giving me owl-y items from childhood, so she stamped them on me, I think. I've seen a wild one once, but never this well.

David Cranmer said...

Cloudia/AC, Agreed!

David, I almost missed it as well scrambling for the camera and then trying to focus the damn thing. One in a million for sure.

Clare, There is just something otherwordly (right word?) beautiful about them.

Jodi MacArthur said...

Omg, wow. So close and in the sunlight. Marvelous picture. Owls are so unique. Fantastic capture!

David Cranmer said...

Thanks, Jodi.