Mortal Enemies

Nov 29/14 Boundary Bay. Sunny and cold -1c

Barn Owl (Tyto alba)

There were two Barn Owls in a Cedar tree. I was told that one was male, the other a female. The one above looks to be the female and below the male. The pair were quite content being photographed from a distance through the thick foliage. The out of focus splashes of colour are from using the lens wide open. The term used by photographers is selective focus, the technique is very useful in bird photography when a bird is partially obscured.

After photographing the owls for a few minutes another photographer came and joined us but in his rush for a clear/better shot he approached too close for comfort and the birds flew the roost. Puns aside, no shot is that important that the birds are forced from their daytime roost. What bothered me is that the bird flew the past a tree inhabited by a pair of fearsome looking Great Horned Owls, who if they had the chance would make short work of the Barn Owls.

Barn Owls are uncommon. The lack of nest sites like older barns and older forests are fast disappearing.

The Lower Mainland's population of Barn Owls is being monitored to the extent that landowners reports birds in barns and elsewhere. Recently a nest with owlets were found under the old Port Mann Bridge while the structure was being dismantled. Those birds were transferred to care for a potential release later.

Barn Owls are found worldwide. 

A nocturnal hunter, it finds its prey more often by sound.

Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianis)

These images came at the end of a day that began on Sumas Prairie where we glimpsed a Gryfalcon hunting but not much else. The wind kept many birds hunkered down. A flock fifty Western Meadowlark was the other highlight on what was a beautifully sunny but cold day.

"It's never too late to start  birding"

John Gordon

Langley/Cloverdale

Great Horned Owlet

Beach Grove Park, Tsawwassen, B.C. April 19 2013
High up in a popular tree a Great horned owlet stretches a wing and stretches out a hideous looking set of yellow talons. I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of those!
The young bird acts like any juvenile would, constantly nudging the sleeping mother, trying all kinds of tricks to wake her up. Now, if only the adult would turn around for the perfect portrait. The owlet, which can only be a few weeks old eventually turns around and faces me. A third owl, the male can be seen preening in a nearby fir tree but is hidden in the shade. Finally, after after two hours I decide to call it a day and try again another day.

A great horned owlet (Bubo virginianus) . The adult parent is  on the left.

 I am told that the pair normally produce three owlets. One thing is for sure, without the park and its large trees there wouldn't be any owls at all.

The owlet wil lose the fluffy down appearance  by the Fall.

A Mixed Bag

Oct 25th 2012 Mixed cloud and sun.
 Iona Regional Park Richmond B.C.
With family commitments put away and the weather forecast predicting a dry and sunny day I set off for Iona Regional Park in Richmond. Driving up to the parking lot five Western meadowlarks could be seen eagerly searching for food. These prairie birds seem to feel quite at home on the sand that has been deposited here over the millennium. Meadowlarks are most noticeable when they perch in the few bushes which have sprouted up along the beach, however they do spend most of their time scurrying around in the long grass, ever wary of the northern harrier and other raptors looking for a meal.
As per usual I met number of really interesting birders and photographers, exchanging niceties about lens length etc (a male obsession), bird lore and the latest sightings.. it beats working!
 My favourite shot of the day was the Goldfinch (below) which was taken half-way through once such discussion, it pays to keep attentive!

American goldfinch  

Northern Harrier hunting.

Keeping an eye out for trouble!

Great horned owl (note the white around the throat)

Anyway, after photographing a flock of American goldfinches that were feeding on seed heads the subject of a Great horned owl came up in  conversation. This news sent me scurrying off to the Terra Nova garden allotments in Richmond. A small murder of crows immediately gave away the owls location. The bird has become quite the celebrity, it barely moved as a procession of schools groups and seniors filed to get a good look. It was perched about fifteen feet from the ground where it nonchalantly  viewed all and sundry.
The bird has become quite the hunter dispatching two barn owls over the last few  days. Apparently the Great horned owl doesn't like competition, it has even attacked a gardener!