I was delighted to find this Barred Owl perched over the bamboo pond yesterday morning. Reports from many of my photographer friends have been that the Barred Owl Owlet was feeding himself and neither he nor the adults had been spotted recently.

I’m not sure if this is the chick from this year or one of the parents, or maybe a completely different owl. He did treat me to one swoop over the water then did some grooming.

I didn’t see him catch anything and he was content to look around.

Click on any image for a larger view.

This morning the male Barred Owl did land in a sunny spot over the pond while he was hunting and I was in a good spot. I didn’t know until later, but the female and owlet were in the trees behind me waiting for their breakfast.

Today was the first time I’d been to the swamp in a week due to the extreme heat we’ve been having. We went early and were home by noon. It was already 95 F (35 C).

The Barred Owls I’ve been watching rarely perch in a sunny spot, but its an owl after all, so you take what you can get! The sunlit trees in the background here sparkled like jewels as the owl scoped out his next snack.

The red lichen on these trees gives this scene of a perched Barred Owl a little different look.

The tree canopy is pretty dense in the area where the Barred Owls I’ve been watching hang out. There are a few perching spots that are nicely lit in the late afternoon.

This Owl chose such a branch, showing off his powerful feet.