BARRED OWL

Sandy Stewart

BARRED OWL

A female Barred Owl perched on an Alder tree branch curiously looks over her shoulder to see what the people below are doing. lol

The Barred Owl is 40-63 cm ( 16-25 inches) long.
Its wingspan is 96-125 cm ( 38-50 inches).
They weight 500-1050 grams ( 17.5-37 oz) (average male is 617 g & average female is 779 g).

The Barred Owl has been known to live up to 23 yrs in captivity and 10 years in the wild. Most deaths are likely related to man ( shotting, roadkills ect). Great Horned Owls are their only natural enemy.

They prefer to live in deep moist forests, wooded swamps and woodlands near waterways. Their territories are 85-365 hectares( 213-903 acres).
The Barred Owl’s range is from British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, and Nova Scotia south to Northern California and throughout East to Texas and Florida.

Courtship activities begin in February with breeding occurring between March and August.
Incubation period is 28-33 days. The male brings food to the female while she is on the nest.
At four weeks of age when the young leave the nest they cannot fly, but crawl out of the nest usig their beak and talons to sit on branches.These Owls are called branchers. They fledge at 35-40 days. The parent’s care for the young for at least 4 months, much longer than most other owls.
The young tend to disperse very short distances of less than 10 kms ( 6 miles), before settling. Pairs mate for life and territories and nest sites are maintained for many years.

Note; This female used the same nest in the hollow of a tree until the tree finally fell. My dad than built a nest box and placed it close to the old nesting area. The pair have so far successfully used the nesting box for three years so far!

” PHOTO INFORMATION”

Taken on May 17/09 at 12:55 pm south East Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada.
Taken in raw, adobe rgb and aperture priority.
Camera; Canon 40D
Lens; Canon EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM lens.
Tripod; Manfrotto tripod and joystick head.
Taken at 1/160’s, at f/10, -2/3 EV, fill flash, 285 mm, man col bal 6500 kelvin, iso 500.
Histogram adjustment and sharpening via lab mode, duplicate layer, lightness channel, unsharpmask ( amount 30-radius 3, threshold 3). No cropping.

BARRED OWL belongs to the following groups:

!$ I LOVE BIRDS !, All things in the Natural World, Animal Kingdom, Birds and Creatures of Flight, Birds Of Prey (3 per day), Canon DSLR (One Image Per Day & A Canon Camera Must Be In The Description Before It's Accepted), DSLR Users Only - 1/24 - Camera & Lens In Description Please., ImageWriting (2/24), Nature's Wonders, Technical Photography, The Beauty of Nature (Nothing Man-Made), The Birds, The Woman Photographer **7 Submissions a week only please** and Wildlife, Landscape, and Nature Photography Online Magazine Available for sale as

Greeting Cards, Matted Prints, Laminated Prints, Mounted Prints, Canvas Prints, Framed Prints and Posters
BARRED OWL by Sandy Stewart
BARRED OWL by Sandy Stewart
  • Barry Norton

    Barry Norton

    Wonderful capture and close up, Sandy

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    Thank you so kindly Barry! : )

  • joedog

    joedog

    Boy did you have his attention, great capture he looks like he might hypnotize you, the way he is looking at the camera

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    Yes, she watched us pretty closely. She is pretty used to people walking the trails and due to her having a fledgling hidden somewhere close by, she was happy to stay put and put up with three of us hanging around. I can only imagine what was going through her thoughts. lol Many kind thanks for your kind compliment Joedog! : )

  • Victoria Jostes

    Victoria Jostes

    fabulous shot, sandy! what time of day did you catch this beauty? he’s looking directly at u!!

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    I took this at 12:55pm. I post the time each photo is taken on the right side under “Photo Information”. So happy you like it and thank you so much Victoria! : )

  • Pamela Phelps

    Pamela Phelps

    How precious! This is simply wonderful!

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    Thank you so much Pamela! My dad lives close by and walks the paths where this owl and her mate hang out during the spring and early summer months. He keeps tabs on them and how many young ones they end up having each year. It is a real treat to see her in real life! : )

  • AnnDixon

    AnnDixon

    This is a fantastic image Sandy, I am so sorry we didn’t make it to see you this time, we are running behind now, we are in Victoria but going to Vancouver tomorrow, hope you are well, hugs Ann,

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    Thank you so much Ann! Hope you have enjoyed your trip and look forward to seeing some pics soon! : )

  • Marvin Collins

    Marvin Collins

    What a beauty, great capture Sandy!!

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    Thank you so kindly Marvin! : )

  • Judy Grant

    Judy Grant

    Truly awesome shot, Sandy !!!!

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    Thank you Judy! : )

  • Ken Haley

    Ken Haley

    I love it, Sandy. Her expression is priceless!

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    Thank you Ken! : )

  • Yool

    Yool

    Sandy this is a stunning shot…...WOW!!!!!

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    Awe,....thank you so much Mariola! : )

  • Esther's Art and Photography

    Esther's Art a...

    That is very beautiful image.

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    Thank you so much Esther! : )

  • John44

    John44

    Very interesting well composed shot, excllent PP,

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    Thank you so much John! : )

  • Rany Lutz

    Rany Lutz

    Fantastic capture!

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    Thank you so much Rany! : )

  • Hawker

    Hawker

    What a majestic bird, love the way you’ve captured this stunning looking owl

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    Thank you so very much Hawker! : )

  • MayJ

    MayJ

    What an awesome close up of this beautiful owl! Loved reading all the fascinating information. :-)

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    Awe,....thank you May! So happy to hear that you enjoyed reading the information I provided about Barred Owls! : )

  • Kelly Robinson

    Kelly Robinson

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    Thank you ever so much for kindly for this feature! : )

  • CJTill

    CJTill

    Absolutely stunning work Sandy

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    Thank you so very much Colin! : )

  • Gary Lengyel

    Gary Lengyel

    Excellent, Sandy!

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    Thank you so very much Gary! I was out shooting another Barred Owl yesterday and captured it consuming lunch even! lol : )

  • Béla Török

    Béla Török

    Amazing capture, dear Sandy!

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    Thank you so much Bela! : )

  • Maureen Maliha

    Maureen Maliha

    This is beautiful, and we were hoping you would consider adding it to the group
    Earth Keepers
    Thanks!

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    Thank you so kindly for your kind compliment and suggestion! I just finished submitting it to this lovely group. : )

  • Angie McKenzie

    Angie McKenzie

    beautiful capture!!!!

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    Thank you so very much Angie! :)

  • Karen Moore

    Karen Moore

    What a great shot of my favorit owl, love the colors in this nice comp very sharp.

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    Thank you so very much Karen! I felt so fortunate yesterday, as I got to shoot yet another Barred Owl that was hanging out in one one of my friend’s yards. : )

  • ilpo laurila

    ilpo laurila

    Brilliant shot Sandy.

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    This bird is a female with a fledgling blending in somewhere close by. So well, we couldn’t spot it. lol She is larger than the one I captured with the prey. The one with the prey is the smallest Barred Owl I have ever seen. Thank you so kindly ilpo! : )

  • Pam Moore

    Pam Moore

    Absolutely Stunning Sandy!!

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    Thank you so much Pam! : )

  • Martin Smart

    Martin Smart

    Beautiful shot Sandy, fantastic detail and superb eye contact!

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    Thank you so much Martin! : )

  • Ellen

    Ellen

    How beautiful, well done Sandy!

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    Thank you so very much Ellen! : )

  • kappisan

    kappisan

    Once again…!:)
    Great colours too!:)

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    Thank you so much Kappi! : )

  • Martina Fagan

    Martina Fagan

    Amazingly beautiful shot.

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    Thank you so much Martina! : )

  • A1000WORDS

    A1000WORDS

    Awesome Capture… =D

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    So sorry for the long delay in thanking you! Thank you so much for your kind compliment! : )

  • Pam Mullins

    Pam Mullins

    Awesome capture, these are such beautiful birds.

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    Thank you so very much! Yes, it’s pretty exciting anytime I get to see one! I feel so fortunate to have seen a few in the past years. : )

  • wayne51

    wayne51

    Awesome bird beautifully captured.

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    Thank you so much Wayne! : )

  • Macky

    Macky

    Awesome capture Sandy, it turned it’s head just for you, wonderful!!

  • Sandy Stewart replied

    Thank you so much Macky! : )

  • laurav

    laurav 3 days ago

    Brilliant image, well spotted! Loads of useful information there and glad that they are still breeding there in the nest box placed up!

  • Sandy Stewart replied 3 days ago

    Thank you so much Laura! : )

Add your comment

You need to login or signup to add your comment to this work.

Tags:

birds, nature and wildlife