Superb Owl Sunday VI
March 1, 2022 4:36 AM Subscribe
A stunning collection of owl photos from The Atlantic at Superb Owl Sunday VI.
I was surprised that no one had posted this already, since it’s apparently an annual event. Everyone loves baby animals, but I must say that young owls have a unique fascination even greater than kittens or puppies, possibly because we so rarely see them,
I was surprised that no one had posted this already, since it’s apparently an annual event. Everyone loves baby animals, but I must say that young owls have a unique fascination even greater than kittens or puppies, possibly because we so rarely see them,
I live where I have, at least, Eastern Screech Owls and Great Horned Owls, but so far, only get to hear them. The screech owl has the weirdest call that sounds like something from a silly horror film, not at all a "screech". Never would have guessed it was an owl, but was looking for owl calls to identify the Great Horned Owl I was hearing from my bed.
posted by Goofyy at 5:26 AM on March 1, 2022
posted by Goofyy at 5:26 AM on March 1, 2022
I was lucky to have great horned owls nesting at a very visible trailside location in some woods near my house for a few years. It was awesome to see the chicks fledge. One year we even saved one that left (or was kicked out of) the nest while too young. That year they had three chicks, and they may have been having trouble feeding all of them. When that happens, parents will unfortunately kick an owlet out of the nest. We got the owlet to the local wildlife rehabber, who raised and released the bird when it was old enough. The adults moved on after that.
posted by mollweide at 5:53 AM on March 1, 2022
posted by mollweide at 5:53 AM on March 1, 2022
Those are great pictures, rory. I clicked through them, thinking "drunk ... high ... muppet ... ORLY ... "
posted by scruss at 7:27 AM on March 1, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by scruss at 7:27 AM on March 1, 2022 [4 favorites]
I saw these pictures a few weeks ago, but am happy to see them again.
I was working on a poem centered in Nazareth and wanted to have an owl in it. I found this delightful video of one called a "little owl" (he drops something out of his mouth at 3:29). I ended up not using "little owl" because I figured most people would think that I was just using "little" as an adjective and I wanted to have a specific owl. So I went with "tawny owl" instead.
Per Wikipedia, the little owl is also known as the owl of Athena or owl of Minerva.
posted by FencingGal at 9:06 AM on March 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
I was working on a poem centered in Nazareth and wanted to have an owl in it. I found this delightful video of one called a "little owl" (he drops something out of his mouth at 3:29). I ended up not using "little owl" because I figured most people would think that I was just using "little" as an adjective and I wanted to have a specific owl. So I went with "tawny owl" instead.
Per Wikipedia, the little owl is also known as the owl of Athena or owl of Minerva.
posted by FencingGal at 9:06 AM on March 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
Owls are so cool...
Big ones tend towards the scary side though. Wouldn't want to fight with that beak and those talons. And they can FLY?
posted by Windopaene at 10:59 AM on March 1, 2022
Big ones tend towards the scary side though. Wouldn't want to fight with that beak and those talons. And they can FLY?
posted by Windopaene at 10:59 AM on March 1, 2022
→
That's a pellet: all the hard and/or indigestible stuff that birds can't poop out, they hork out as compressed pellets. You don't want to hang about under the night herons roosting in the trees in Lincoln Park, lemme tell ya.
posted by scruss at 1:47 PM on March 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
(he drops something out of his mouth at 3:29)
That's a pellet: all the hard and/or indigestible stuff that birds can't poop out, they hork out as compressed pellets. You don't want to hang about under the night herons roosting in the trees in Lincoln Park, lemme tell ya.
posted by scruss at 1:47 PM on March 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
Owl are neat-o. Atlantic editor David Frum is war crime-adjacent.
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 3:39 PM on March 2, 2022
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 3:39 PM on March 2, 2022
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In case that isn't enough owls for you, here's my own collection of photos from the excellent Scottish Owl Centre, the "largest collection of owls in the world". (That makes them sound like they're stuffed specimens in a museum, doesn't it. They're very much alive.)
posted by rory at 5:08 AM on March 1, 2022 [3 favorites]