From Paul Moore
Visited RSPB Wallasea today to photograph the Short Eared Owls with my mate Mark O’Dell. It was a beautiful clear sunny day but there was a harsh cold wind. Unfortunately the Shorties didn’t show but we were treated to a display by a Barn Owl as we were leaving at sunset. Great to see and capture my first Barnie of 2025.
It looks kind of ethereal, with the pale feathers and the light shining through the wings. Great pose.
I really like when a photo has the backlighting to highlight that translucent quality of the flight feathers. Owl feathers are less dense and have more give than most bird feathers. It’s very noticeable if you ever get the opportunity to handle an owl feather. It lets some of that trapped air through, cutting down on flight noise, so it’s part of their stealth ability.
How did you come across a feather? Just luck, or at a rehab center or something?
I’ve gotten to handle a number of owl bits attending presentations and going to zoos and rescues. A couple skulls, individual feathers, whole wings, talons/feet. They usually will bring something to pass around since you aren’t allowed to touch the living owls.
The National Aviary had the best pile of stuff, though I did pay to go to that so I could hold a Screech Owl on a gloved hand. The owl was so light I think the glove weighed more, but that was where I got to examine the whole wing, and they had a feather from an owl, a songbird of some sort, and a gigantic feather from one of their condors. The condor feather was so stiff, and you could hear it cut the air if you swing it. The songbird feather was much softer and lighter, but you could see it was fairly opaque, and the fluffy bits has a velcro feeling from the barbules if you run your finger through it. The owl feather was much more airy, you could see more light through it, and air and my finger just slid right through. It was much more dramatic than I could have imagined. It’s been one of my favorite owl experiences, even if I hadn’t got to hold the owl.
Cedar was a cutie, but he really showed no interest back at me, and all I could feel was the work glove. It was nice to get to look at him so close without netting in the way and to make him do the gyroscopic head control when I moved my arm around, but getting the hands on time with the not alive parts was more educational.
Here’s one pic, but I’ve got more and some comments on the experience here.
Fascinating! Maybe I’ll get a chance to stop by there if I’m ever in Pittsburgh.
It looks so small in that picture, but like a lot of small birds, they know how to project. The one around here is pretty active, and you can tell how far it goes by how the sound changes. It moves pretty fast.
We had a lot of fun in the Pittsburgh area. The Aviary was very nice. There was a big room of tropical birds, they had Eagle Owls and the condors. The botanical gardens were very lovely. The natural history museum has lots of great fossils too.
Owls can have a lot of territory to cover. The Great Horned here always sounds pretty far away, but I don’t hear any other owls around here.