Sitting

010O8366
Female owl sitting on her eggs.

I didn’t think Great Horned Owls used the same nesting spot two years in a row, but this pair of owls proved me wrong.

010O8356
Male owl standing guard.

Owl Season’s Underway

010O8236

A couple we often see in the bosque, told me they had just discovered the nesting place of a pair of owls last night. When I got to the nesting area a few minutes later, there were two owls to be seen — a larger owl in a cottonwood, and another, smaller owl, in an elm tree next to the cottonwood.  The larger female was out taking a break, I presumed.  She was hooting up a storm on her perch in the cottonwood. The smaller owl was perched on a limb, a silent sentry, very alert, guarding the area.   The sun had been down for fifteen minutes or so, forcing me to bump up my ISO to 3200 to get a somewhat sensible shutter speed. As I was photographing the owls, a chorus of coyotes started howling from the undergrowth all around where I was standing beneath the owls. The scene became surreal as I was standing in a small clearing, darkness falling all around, the owl hooting from above, and coyotes yipping and howling in surround sound.

010O8237
Hooting. I wonder if you pushed up on the tail feathers of a Great Horned Owl if it would hoot.
010O8242
She spies something in the distance.
010O8243
Ready. Set…
010O8244
¡Hasta la vista!

Go North, Young Cranes

010O7912

The cranes that stayed in Corrales over the winter have flown north. Now we are seeing some of the stragglers flying north from areas further south. Every once in a while a group of cranes will circle over our house to gain altitude before continuing north. Cranes that fly in close to sunset roost along the Rio Grande before they continue their journey north at sunrise.

010O7910

010O7913

010O7911

010O7976

Upchuck and Personal

010O7447
“Hey paparazzo! What the hoot is up? It’s been awhile?
010O7448
“Who’s that with you? Oh! Of course. Hi paparazza!”
010O7454
“Ak! Hold on a minute. Ak Ak Ak Ak…”
010O7453
“AAaaakK!”
010O7450
“Sorry. I had to upchuck a pellet. Pretty after glow. Carry on. Where were we?”

 

Takes Two Pterodactyls To Tango

010O7187

I wasn’t expecting Mr. pT. (Great Blue Heron Pterodactyl) at the beginning of our walk. I had my ISO set at 400, which is a little slow against dark trees at sunset.  It’s one thing not to expect the Mr. pT., which I should know better, since I see him almost every night. But I really wasn’t expecting to see Ms pT., so imagine my surprise and excitement when Mr. pT. swooped down and flushed Ms pT. out of the clearwater ditch to do a pterodactyl tango on their way over the bosque to the rio Grande.  Part of the challenge is to see if you can find Mr. pT. against the tangle of bare cottonwood branches in the first six photos; and then see if you can find Mr. pT. and Ms pT. in the 7th photo and the last photo.

010O7188

010O7190

010O7191

010O7192

010O7193

010O7194

010O7195

010O7196

010O7197

010O7198

010O7199

010O7200

010O7201

 

Bold

010O6445

The cranes that have been foraging in the field north of us have become quite bold, letting me get much closer to them for photos. The cranes will start flying north this month. In the weeks to come there will be few left. All but maybe a few stragglers will be gone by March.

010O6451