He didn’t move much between my taking this image and the one in my April 6th Barred Owl post, with just his facial disc angled slightly more. They were both so nice I developed a B&W version of this one.
Barred Owl, Black and White
Tag Archives: Barred Owl
Barred Owl, Waiting
He waited, I waited.
A Barred Owl passed over me and I just saw his wing. A few moments later another one zipped through the tree canopy. After walking along slowly and listening as the two owls “talked” to each other and several Crows made a ruckus overhead I spotted one high in a tree.
He then flew towards a pond where I have seen an Owl before. I slowly walked in that direction, standing and waiting and I finally spotted him. This tree stands in the middle of that small pond. He was a little closer to the ground, maybe twenty feet (six meters) up.
I inched around the side of the pond and got a side view.
And a few more feet along and more waiting, the sun popped out for a minute.
These were taken with my Sony Alpha 6500 with Sony 55-210 MM lens, which I rarely use for wildlife. However, my Canon is off having the media slot fixed and I was pleased how these came out.
Barred Owl
I heard two Barred Owls talking to each other with that low cooing sound they use when they are on the hunt. After perching in a few spots in the tree canopy one of them settled for a bit above a small pond.
I check this spot regularly, knowing that at least a pair of Barred Owls hunt here. Looking through past posts, June of 2018 was the last time my passing here was rewarded.
Sony Alpha 6500, Sony 55-210 mm
Barred Owl in Bamboo Grove
A pair of Barred Owls frequents the pond near this stand of bamboo looking for food. This owl had just had an unsuccessful attempt to catch a noisy bullfrog.
The bullfrog stopped his song but the owl flew away with nothing in his talons. The owl chose a spot with a good view of the pond to watch and listen for his next opportunity.
Native bamboo was grown on the plantations in South Carolina to create natural barriers to help keep livestock in and keep predators out. Today it makes a beautiful addition to some of the area gardens and museum properties.
Barred Owl
We visited Beidler Forest last week with out of town guests. We were all delighted to see a Barred Owl shortly after leaving the visitor center and quite close to the board walk. The owl impressed the guests with a head swiveling demo but opted not to go fishing while we were watching.
Barred Owl Owlet
A Barred Owl pair with two fledged owlets has been seen regularly from the boardwalk at Beidler Forest. We spotted just this one youngster taking short flights in the limbs above us.
The owlet was curious about the humans passing on the boardwalk below him, not bothered by our presence. A school group of about twenty-five kids and chaperones had just passed and a few of their stragglers stopped with us to watch the chick.
Barred Owl, Low Light
It had clouded over on our way to visit the owl spot meaning the light was low, but we continued on. It was for owls, after all.
He was there, looking around and fully aware we were watching him.
Barred Owl With Reflection
Portrait of a Barred Owl holding his frog catch.
Barred Owl Portraits
The best time to photograph these Barred Owls is first thing in the morning. They hang around the pond looking for food and bathing. The tree canopy is filling in and the morning we were there it was mostly cloudy, so the resulting images aren’t as clear as I’d like. But they are Owls!
The image below was taken after the frog snack of my previous post. We were moving on and the pair flew over us headed back to the pond.
Barred Owl Pair Getting Lunch
The first Barred Owl from my previous post appeared to be just hanging out on a limb above a small pond, maybe nodding off.
All the while he was watching the water below. He dropped down and out of my sight. I circled around the pond to discover the Owl posing nicely at the base of a Cypress tree. I didn’t see the frog until I was developing the images.
The presence of the frog explained the behavior of the mate, who had moved to a branch above, hunched over watching, and was making clucking noises. After a few minutes of this they flew off together, I hope to share the frog.
