On Thursday I had best part of a day owling, although the weather forecast was not good. I arrived at my Little Owl Site No.17 in the hope of seeing some youngsters, and put up one of the adults from the ground beside the nest site - but more of that will be in a future posting. At one point I was sitting in my hide, concentrating on the shot I wanted, when I saw that (typically!) I could see, through a side opening in the hide, that an owl was watching my hide. I didn't bother to dismount the camera as it had brightened up and the owl was in silhouette. However, it quickly got dull, and I found that I could see the bird much more clearly. Then it started raining and something remarkable happened! The bird started to hunker down and open its wings. It gave me a look as if to say "are you getting this?", and I quickly dismounted the camera and adjusted for the new light conditions. Then it really started enjoying the rain and taking a shower.
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| "are you getting this?" |
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| "oh, that feels good!" |
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| "was that good for you too?" |
I've always thought that owls and wet & windy weather don't mix, but I do remember Paul Riddle telling us through his blog of a Little Owl enjoying a shower. This day was both wet and windy, and it was also quite cold (I had dressed for warmer weather and I was having difficulty holding the camera still through shivering!). Now I've seen it for myself!
Super images mate, I have seen this behaviour on a few occasions now, but didn't get such good close up's as you managed.
ReplyDeleteI'm just waiting for your juvenile images now, no pressure then.....!
Thanks Paul. No pressure - got my first juvenile images of the year this morning!! Will put them up in a day or two.
ReplyDelete