Saturday, November 17, 2018

Great Horned Owl!


For the past few weeks, a great horned Owl has been serenading Mike and I!  The top of the 44 foot tall agave is right outside our bedroom and the owl will perch on the top of it, survey the hillside and make it’s calls.  The sight is pretty incredible.  But since it is so dark, I can only see a silhouette of the agave and owl.  Last night I tried using my digital SLR, but the distance was too far for the camera to focus.  The camera flash kept flickering (trying to focus) like a paparazzi and the owl wasn’t bothered by it at all.  It must be a celebrity owl.  After a few minutes it must become tired of me trying to take a picture and quietly flew away to find a mouse.  This short video has a mock-up of the silhouette I have been seeing and the audio, courtesy of ‘iBird Ultimate’ app, are the calls we have been hearing.  

1 comment:

  1. Nice! It's always good to get the call if possible. I'm thrilled if a bird sings while I'm getting video. As you described trying to photograph it, I thought, "try video, as sometimes the camera will just do that and stop worrying." Early one morning when I was looking out at the common area of my apartment complex, determining the weather, and I saw a skunk! (This is in downtown Albuquerque, but we're fairly close to the Rio Grande and the forest and the Zoo, too). I tried to take its picture, but the scene was lighted only by electric lights, which the camera refused to deal with as the skunk waddled away after digging some bugs out of the grass. I realized I should have tried video, which for me often does work okay ("okay" being working at all). I put up a sign in the mail room warning tenants, esp those who walk their dogs by letting them run free... It would be no fun to drag a stinking dog into their apartment! Also, we have barn owls, but I've only seen them near or in the forest. Like hawks, the owls probably know all the sources of a meal in town (pigeons, doves, cats, small dogs...)

    ReplyDelete