Barred Owl Roosting At Sunset

The Barred Owl (Strix varia) is found in the eastern United States and in the Pacific Northwest, but is most common in the Southeastern United... more

by Morris Finkelstein

Title

Barred Owl Roosting At Sunset

Artist

Morris Finkelstein

Medium

Photograph

Description

The Barred Owl (Strix varia) is found in the eastern United States and in the Pacific Northwest, but is most common in the Southeastern United States. It prefers habitat that is marshy, wooded, or forested near water. Barred Owls are usually found in pairs. While they are mostly nocturnal, they may be seen and heard during the day, particularly if cloudy. Barred Owls hunt while in flight or from a perch, mostly for rodents and small mammals. The Barred Owl is stocky, with a round head, brown plumage, dark eyes, broad wings, and a short tail, measuring about 21 inches in length and about 1.6 pounds in weight. The bars on the chest are horizontal while the bars on the belly are vertical.

This Barred Owl roosting on top of a mound of brush soon before sunset, in a scrubby opening in woods, was photographed in southwestern Connecticut on 1-16-2019. Only 30 minutes earlier, it was aggressively challenged by a Cooper's Hawk which perched about 10 feet away, and 'screamed' at it for a minute or two. I was amazed to watch the smaller Barred Owl fluff up it feathers, hold its ground, watch the Cooper's fly away, and then chase after the Cooper's Hawk! The Barred Owl returned to this perch, where it rested quietly until sunset. Looking at this image alone, who could imagine what threat the Barred Owl just encountered. I used a Nikon D850 camera body and a Nikon 500mm f/4.0E FL ED VR lens to capture this image. Settings: 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1250.

I am honored that my photograph was featured in the Fine Art America groups:
FAA Portraits - Birds, 1-22-2019
USA Photographers Only, 1-24-2019
A Birding Group - Wings, 1-28-2019
Images That Excite You, 1-28-2019
FAA Portraits, 1-28-2019
Wildlife One-A-Day, 1-29-2019
Kingdom Animalia, 9-10-2019
10 Plus, 10-20-2019
Pure Nature Photography, 1-28-2020
Predators Of The World, 8-30-2021
Real Animal Photographs, 3-30-2023

KEYWORDS: barred owl roosting at sunset, barred owl, strix varia, owl, raptor, hunter, predator, bird of prey, bird, avian, nature, natural, wild, wildlife, outdoors, wings, feathers, plumage, brown, white, stripes, barred, talons, face, eyes, one, brush, forest, woods, tree, branch, standing, perched, perching, resting, roosting, sunset, dusk, winter, northeast, northeastern, southwestern connecticut, connecticut, morris finkelstein, st. louis, missouri, photograph, digital, horizontal, portrait, close up, nikon d850, photography

Uploaded

January 21st, 2019