By the time I arrived at Myakka River State Park last Friday evening, it was already dusk and I didn't expect any real photo opportunities. Then, I spotted a family standing next to a truck pointing up at the trees. Curiosity getting the best of me, I pulled over. As I grabbed my camera gear from the trunk, I heard the distinct call of a barred owl. Sure enough, one owl could be seen roosting adjacent to the road. (Several others were nearby but could only be heard.) Just enough daylight remained to squeeze out a fairly decent shot (with the ISO cranked all the way up and the camera on a tripod). The family was really nice and we speculated 3-4 barred owls were nearby. All of us (from a grandpa to a youngster under 10) were captivated by the owls' calls. In fact, every time they caterwauled, our eyes grew big and we all giggled -- because we were so surprised by the unusual sounds. If you'd like to hear it, I recorded a bit with my iPhone. Just click here. I've never heard so many owls -- with such a variety of calls. What a hoot! And, what a great, unexpected encounter.
10 comments:
Lucky you! Most owls we see are the nocturnal ones gliding off at dusk. We get the rare snowy owl, which will come out during daylight but it's just that: rare.
I have actually never seen an owl. I know they're around but they have always eluded me. The sounds were incredible. Sometimes they sounded like dogs, sometimes like howler monkeys in Costa Rica. Definitely not what I thought an owl would sound like!
So awesome!!
Well done. I've never had the opportunity to get a shot of an owl. This is a wonderful shot.
What a beautiful owl!
The ones we see here are mostly nocturnal... I remember one night hearing the screech of an owl flying that sounded like a woman screaming.
The shot is excellent SRQ I'm going to have to wait until the morning to hear the sounds, sleeping nephew and niece in the next room :)
Those are some unusual sounds!
That's awesome!
What a very fine capture! Serendipity is the best. Enjoyed the sounds too.
That would have been so much fun. You were lucky. (And that nice family seemed like the perfect companions to appreciate the barred owls).
My first house down here was in Fort Myers. I used to go on walks at night, maybe ten o'clock or so. One night I was walking down the street and looked to me left and about 15 feet away from me a barred owl was sitting on the post of a mailbox. I was floored. It was way too dark to take a photo. I looked for owls the rest of the time and only saw them again five or six times. (But, I did hear them.)
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