One from the hard drives and the only Long Eared Owl I have seen in Ottawa ( almost all the LEO I've seen were on Ahmerst Island in Lake Ontario but not sure if that population is still active)
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This is a night shot from this evening and I used a 580Ex flash to expose this tiny Northern Saw-whet Owl. This is my third Winter in a row where I get to see and photograph this beautiful species ( very fortunate) and the first time at night. It's head never stopped turning from right to left so it was hearing something on the ground below ( it was only about 4 feet off the snow covered ground). It didn't stay long but long enough :-)
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A Tiny Northern Sawhet Owl....one from my hard drives...
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I never would have seen this guy if not for several chickadees that were obviously upset at something in a busy tree. I looked hard and then there it was, no bigger than a robin and blending in perfectly. I found two small keyholes and at first I thought he was sitting on a small piece of ice...ends up being a meadow vole or some other tiny rodent. Light was late and I didn't stay long...will check again tomorrow or the next day...
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I was quite surprised to find this little owl. It must be desperate to be out of the concealment of cedars and other evergreens. There are maybe a dozen small pines on the outskirts of these woods but no evergreens whatsoever to speak of. My backyard has better habitat for this species. A nocturnal owl, these tiny ( 8 inch) birds hunt at night and normally roost up close to the trunk of a cedar or similar...
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