Subject: [Tweeters] Fwd: Northern Hawk Owl Pics
Date: Nov 22 08:05:07 2014
From: Loren Mooney - loren.mooney at gmail.com


Hi tweets,

I shared this with another reader but I think several folks are going to go
see the owl, so I thought I should share it with everyone...

I was lucky enough to see him right by the road when I first drove up.
He's using those rows as a runway and the braces as unobstructed perches.
As long as there's still food there, he's found Hawk Owl heaven. The
trick is to look at which direction he's looking and then walk to the end
of that row in front of him. He'll come to you. If he hops over to
another row, he'll generally keep working that next row in the same
direction, so just change rows.

When he moves down the row he'll drop down to knee level and fly several
feet near the ground, then swoop up to another brace. He'll generally
move about 6 -12 braces, so if you want pictures you can position yourself
and just wait for the shot he gives you. He may also hop over to the
orchard, but he quickly goes back to the braces. He's hunting, so he'll
perch and look around for 5-10 mins, then move. He'll move quicker than
that in the orchard.

I was alone, quiet and slow, so that may have helped. (If you're with a
group, you'll probably just want to stand back by the road). Leave the
bright clothes at home. I was in camo pants with a drab green rain coat
and my camera gear is in a camo rain cover and big enough to hide my face.
With my coat's hood, the camera on a tripod and my drab clothes I probably
just looked like something non-human. He checked me out once after he
finished his meal (the tilted head shot) and after that he ignored me the
rest of the hour. Basically treated me like a deer or bush. He
practically landed on me two times and almost touched me once as he flew
by. He is definitely not shy.

After I got some insurance shots I rang the bell at the house across the
street and asked for permission to go onto the property to take pics. He
said he didn't own it, but it was no problem to walk the property for bird
pics and he's really nice. He's got feeders set up at his house so he's
attracting a lot of birds there. I saw a large flock of quail so the owl
may be feeding on more than just rodents, and that may be why he's also
spending time in that tree over by the house, although not while I was
there.

The home owner didn't know the owl was there. I showed him the owl, told
him how rare it is and got him excited about it. I did have one other
neighbor come up to me and check me out. He thought I was a hunter with
the camo, but then was okay when he saw I had a camera, not a gun. (It's a
big lens). I showed him some pictures on the camera and got him excited
about the owl a little too, hopefully. I think there's going to be quite
a few people over there in coming days and the locals may get annoyed
soon. Hopefully at least those two locals will have some patience.

I still have more pics to post when I have a chance. I went a little nuts
with the shutter. :) Have fun if you trek over there. If you do go, send
me a note and let me know how it goes. It's warming up today and the snow
is melting, so the roads are probably going to be good soon.

Loren




---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Loren Mooney <loren.mooney at gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Nov 21, 2014 at 9:42 PM
Subject: Northern Hawk Owl Pics
To: "Tweeters at u.washington.edu" <Tweeters at u.washington.edu>


Here's some pics of the N. Hawk Owl from today.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/loren-mooney/

On Fri, Nov 21, 2014 at 4:13 PM, Loren Mooney <loren.mooney at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Wow. Just spent the last hour watching him in the orchard across from the
> house in Brewster. Amazing bird. Watched him hunt, catch and eat a
> mouse/rat? He basically ignored me the whole time. About 10 mins ago he
> flew right toward me and past me at knee level. If I had lifted my right
> hand six inches I would have touched him. Definitely not afraid of
> people. He's working that field across from the house.
>
> Sent from my iPhone




--
Loren Mooney
Seattle, Washington
Mooney Images <http://www.mooneyimages.com>



--
Loren Mooney
Seattle, Washington
Mooney Images <http://www.mooneyimages.com>
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