The other day my friend Karen took me out to a spot in North Phoenix to shoot one of my very favorite birds, The Great Horned Owl. It has a nest on top of a Saguaro Cactus with 3 owlets. With a length from 17-25 inches and a wingspan from 3 to 5 feet it is a formidable bird. Owls hunt mainly by watching from a snag, pole or other high perch, sometimes completely concealed by the dusky night and/or partially hidden by foliage. From such vantage points, owls dive down to the ground, often with wings folded, to ambush their prey. They also hunt by flying low over openings on the ground, scanning below for prey activity. On occasion owls may actually walk on the ground in pursuit of small prey or, rarely, inside a chicken coop to prey on the fowl within. They have even been known to wade into shallow water for aquatic prey, although this has been only rarely reported. Owls can snatch birds and some arboreal mammals directly from tree branches as well. The stiff feathering of their wings allows owls to produce minimal sound in flight while hunting. This was the only shot I was able to get with the momma’s eyes somewhat open and only one of the owlets was visible at the time. It was a lazy afternoon and she must have been sleepy from hunting the night before.
This was shot at 1/800 sec, ISO 2000, f11, 500mm
