Afternoon With an Owl

(March 27th) After a great morning, I headed over to the library in Cape Coral for the afternoon. But unlike everyone else, I wasn't there to read. The Florida subspecies uses the surrounding area as a popular nesting site. At first I didn't realize that most of the burrows were inactive, but I found one in use.

The owls are amazing. One stands watch over the burrow virtually 24/7. At first the owl just stood there not moving. Another photographer came and went, but I wasn't moving. The patience paid off - as it began to preen and gave some sharp poses.

As the day grew close to sunset, the owls became more active. The female emerged from the burrow for a short while and then returned. The owls can alter their body shape quite drastically. Here he has elongated himself to near maximum height.

Just a few seconds later he had hunched down and fluffed out his feathers. The light was low, but it led to blur effect that I really like. Over 4 hours with one bird - what an ending to an exciting day.