Yes, it’s Superb Owl Sunday, when we celebrate our silent-flying friends! It’s pretty appropriate this year since they’re good at keeping their distance.
UPDATE: Aha! My strategy is working. By posting a lot of mediocre photos of owls, it has encouraged people to post a lot of really incredible photos of owls! In fact, they are posting Superb! owl photos.
Stay back, do not pass. Burrowing Owl, Solano County CA
So yeah, others may be glued to the TV today but let’s venture out, shall we?
While others are focused on what’s happening on the playing field today, we can focus on what’s around other fields… or under them. Burrowing Owl, San Benito County.
Whiskered Screech Owl, Cave Creek Canyon AZ
I could stretch to make football related puns but… naaaah. (Feel free to do so in comments, of course.) Let’s just take a moment to celebrate the awesomeness of owls.
On one hand, they are the very embodiment of wildness — the hoot of an owl is movie shorthand for “you’re outside in a wild place”. They’re so at home in these wild places that they blend right into the trees they inhabit. How many branches have you passed, not realizing they weren’t branches?
OTOH, they’re quite at home with us and among us. Some owls have adapted to humans and their structures — one species has adapted so well that it’s part of their name, Barn Owl. But they’ll use plenty of other buildings as well. These siblings, for example, are growing up in one of San Francisco’s most exclusive neighborhoods. Their neighbors may be billionaires but who has the best view?
They’re kinda messy, but they’re still super cool. (And they provide free pest control.) Barn Owls, SF
Urban owls raise families in surprising busy locations. This Great Horned Owl has nested for years in Golden Gate Park across the street from a popular spot for both locals and out-of-town visitors. There are passers-by all day long, and people frequently stop to have a look at her. She’s not bothered by humans, but the local corvids harass her enough to make up for everyone else.
Don’t mess with mama. Last year she raised two young. Great Horned Owl, San Francisco
Owls don’t really build their own nests — they use nests made by other species (old hawk nests or woodpecker cavities), or make use of naturally occurring spaces like tree crotches, hollow logs/branches, cavities in rocks, or large snags.
It would be easy to overlook this pair of nestlings. If you were a ground squirrel, that would be a fatal mistake. Great Horned Owls, Stanislaus County CA
Great Grey Owl nest on top of broken snag, Yosemite NP.
Nest sites are interesting, but look at how awesome they are at finding places to hang out when they’re not being silent killers of the night…
Yes, I am hanging out in a heart shaped hole in a tree. Your point is … ? Western Screech Owl, AZ
Of course, they can’t always find a good place to shelter. This Long-eared Owl couldn’t dodge the raindrops. Bedraggled isn’t his best look.
Long-eared Owl, Mercey Hot Springs, CA. (I bet it wishes it could find the hot springs about now.)
Eventually, the rain stops and we look more owly.
Long-eared Owl, Mercey Hot Springs. Same place, different year.
A few more owls, just because why not?
Elf Owl, Cave Creek Canyon, AZ (banded as part of a study). I’ve shared this photo before but why not share it again, right? Hard to believe this tiny thing is an adult male. He’s the size of a large sparrow.
The only reason we spotted this Northern Pygmy Owl is because it was completely surrounded by angry (and relentless) Ruby-crowned Kinglets. Near Yosemite.
It’s hard to get a close look at a Short-eared Owl. And when you do, it’s so tempting to just stare that you forget to pull out a camera, hence all these long-distance shots… Solano County, CA
You’re okay with one more of these, right? Burrowing Owl in the heart of Silicon Valley.
omg so FUZZY!!! Great Horned Owl and two nestlings, Livermore, CA
More fuzziness!! Whiskered Screech Owl fledgling, Cave Creek Canyon AZ
The way you get all those fuzzies is from owl pairs. Great Horned Owls, Paicines CA
As fabulous, exciting and photogenic as owls can be, not every Superb Owl yields a superb photo. But if they’re super special, it’s hard not to try even when you know you’re going to get something … suboptimal.
Snowy Owl… someplace near Campbell River, BC. This is the best of about 40 attempts.
So, hey — let’s see your Superb Owls.
