Great Horned Owl: V

Here's a "5" Star Juvenile Great Horned Owl photo I took a couple of months ago. Great detail and coloring.

Great Horned Owlet

Great Horned Owl -- Eucalyptus Background

So continuing with my "5" Star Photos in general and the Great Horned Owl in particular we come to this one that seems more like a Japanese painting than a photo. Sitting gracefully on a limb of a eucalyptus tree, he somehow seems above us all. Owls, unlike other birds -- especially doves and quail -- seem to know when humans do not mean them harm. They don't flitter around nervously or fly off into the wind when they see a human. Makes photographing them fun -- well, when you find them.

Great Horned Owl

Great Horned Owl - III

Here is another "5" Star Great Horned Owl photo. This one taken at Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in Southern Arizona. I like the almost psychedelic background created by the blue sky and green leaves of the tree. 

Great Horned Owlet

Great Horned Owl - II

The second of my "5" Star Great Horned Owls. In this case I love the color contrast between the Owl and the green background of the eucalyptus tree. Also the nice detail of the owl:

Great Horned Owl

Another Great: The Great Horned Owl

There is a Great Horned Owl nest just across the street from us in a 60 year old eucalyptus tree. It has been the home of Great Horned Owls for at least 12 years. During that time two sets of adults have lived there. Both of the original parents died about 5 years ago; about six months apart, during which time the surviving male found a female only to died a few months later. There have been 11 years of offspring numbering between 25 and 30 young in total. Today's "5" Star Photo, the first of the Great Horned Owls, is off two of the offspring four years ago:

Great Horned Owlets

Reflections on a Great Egret

The last of my "5" Star Great Egret photos comes from Potholes National Wildlife Refuge in Central Washington. This photo also taken at dusk and once again shows how wonderfully photographable the Great Egret is.

Great Egret

Still More of that Gorgeous Great Egret

Continuing with my "5" Star Photos and the Great Egret we get to one I took many years ago somewhere in Northern California. These were the film days before photo software made life easier for a photographer with 10,000 plus photos to label,  organize, etc. I remember everything about taking this photo: it was a small pond; it was sunset; the egret was at one end; when he saw me he flew to the other end of the pond. I remember the landscape. I remember the horizon. I remember just about everything. I just can't remember where it was.

Great Egret