Short-Eared Owl in flight
by Kathy King
Title
Short-Eared Owl in flight
Artist
Kathy King
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
Unlike other owls, Short-eared Owls can be active both day and night, doing much of their hunting at dusk.
They are a medium-sized owl, often about 30-40 cm (one foot) long with a wingspan close to one meter (three feet).
Perhaps their most unique feature, however, is that they emit a barking sound when annoyed or to express territoriality.
They are different from their other owl-relatives in their tendency to nest on the ground in open fields.
These owls will often congregate in areas where there is abundant prey, such voles, often in open habitats. Short-eared Owls are specialized vole hunters, and in the lower Fraser River delta their diet consists mainly of Townsend�s voles, often found in Grassland Set-Asides.
Short-eared Owls are a Blue-Listed (Threatened) species in British Columbia and are listed as a species of special concern under the federal Species at Risk Act. This is most likely due to the loss of important breeding habitat such as marshes and grasslands. The Fraser River delta provides some habitat suitable for breeding, and the owls remain within the Greater Vancouver area year-round.
Uploaded
March 24th, 2013
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Comments (8)
Nikolyn McDonald
Excellent in-flight capture - love the environment as background, blurred to set him off but recognizable and natural. Congratulations on your tie for 2nd place in the Amazing Raptor Birds contest.
Lianne Schneider
Your images of birds are just the best on FAA - magical captures. And this one totally awesome. F/L T
Andrea Timillero
This is a great shot!!! The eye is perfectly in focus and sharp while anything else slightly blur... really difficult! It's a tone on tone where the Owl stand out on the back ground and the his eye stand out on him! ...Sorry for my broken English... the point is I love it... voted.
Kathy King replied:
Andrea, thank you so much! Appreciate your constructive feedback and glad you love this capture.