Hawk Owl and the Hand of Man

[Gary Fairhead]

There is a good possibility that a few members from the Ottawa POTN group might post some photos from today's trip to the Gatineau Hills in Quebec. There were 7 members from this forum there this morning to watch and photograph this rather rare visitor. Quite a treat. I am posting this shot to give the viewers an idea of just how small this Owl is. The black glove on the post is owned by another photog and the Owl investigated it a few times ...probably due to the contrast and color. Yes..the hand of man has a glove. ;) Oh what the....here is a flight shot as well...




http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a300/g2a/Owls/glove.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a300/g2a/Owls/HO1.jpg

[busbyea]

2 Great shots..Dive is especially nice..

[Wayne Wood]

what an amazing little owl , I love the dive shot Gary ,,, for some reason I thought this guy would be easy to shoot inflight , boy was I wrong

[canonloader]

Yes..the hand of man has a glove.
HAHAHAHA......

Cute little bugger. Interesting possibilities if the owl landed to check out the glove. Maybe he was looking for nesting materials. :D

[Blackburnian]

Ya Baby!

Love the glove and the Rocket!

Keep em coming!

[hTr]

Very Nice Dive shot it truely rates a "WOW" for difficulty to capture.

[bromm]

after it got used to the glove, did anyone try raising their hand above their head and standing still:rolleyes:, lol awesome shots as usual Gary, the glove shot really puts the size into perspective.

[canonloader]

after it got used to the glove, did anyone try raising their hand above their head and standing still:rolleyes:, lol awesome shots as usual Gary, the glove shot really puts the size into perspective.
Excellent idea. :D

[canondslruser]

Very nice shot. And I have the same shot too :lol: Someone had brought mice and this makes all the difference. It brings the owl closer.

[Airedale1]

Great captures Gary. That bird is amazing looking.

[DonE]

Very nice looking owl. Great shots as well!!

[Gary Fairhead]

Thanks for the comments everyone and here are a couple more...a simple portrait and an enlarged version of the rocket.:D

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a300/g2a/Owls/Simple.jpg


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a300/g2a/printfly.jpg

[owlboy]

after it got used to the glove, did anyone try raising their hand above their head and standing still

Unlikely that this would fool the owl. The owl can hear your heart beating from 100 feet away like it was a siren. While the owl knows that you are in the field, it does not feel threaten. But, it is not likely to come directly to you unless you are willing to hold a mouse in your hand. If you are thinking about doing this make sure you have a Hawk Glove on. Otherwise, expect them to sink their talons deep into your hand, and possible break finger or two.

[bromm]

hmmmm, it was an attempt at a laugh,thus the :rolleyes:. But thanks for your concern.;)

[canondslruser]

Thanks for the comments everyone and here are a couple more...a simple portrait and an enlarged version of the rocket.:D


Very nice diving shot. I see it is still sharp even at the enlarged size. Not easy to catch the Hawk Owl in that pose.

Went up to Low again today and it appears the Hawk Owl had taken on a whole different personality from the one we saw yesterday. The owl wasn't very active. About 7-8 people from the Montreal area were there as well in addition to a few of the local Ottawa guys.

The Hawk Owl activity today was kind of disappointing compared to yesterday. I feel for the folk who had to drive the 3 hours from Montreal. But such is nature photography...you cannot predict what a creature will do on a given day. But we did get to see what some thought to be a Shrike (long story).

[qhorses]

Nice, sharp pictures of a beautiful bird.

[Gary Fairhead]

Very nice diving shot. I see it is still sharp even at the enlarged size. Not easy to catch the Hawk Owl in that pose.

Went up to Low again today and it appears the Hawk Owl had taken on a whole different personality from the one we saw yesterday. The owl wasn't very active. About 7-8 people from the Montreal area were there as well in addition to a few of the local Ottawa guys.

The Hawk Owl activity today was kind of disappointing compared to yesterday. I feel for the folk who had to drive the 3 hours from Montreal. But such is nature photography...you cannot predict what a creature will do on a given day. But we did get to see what some thought to be a Shrike (long story).


Same thing happened last weekend if you recall but in reverse order. The Owl was inactive and almost skitish on Saturdays and then I hear it was just amazing on Sunday. Just like other birds I guess...unpredictable .

And thanks to Owlboy,,,( Trevor was just kidding) and to ghorses:D

[cfcRebel]

STUNNING! Shot like these makes the frozen toes and fingers all worth it. :D

[Mitcon]

Awesome shots, seems you all had a great day out. Stunning bird

[Reyno]

Great series Gary. Like em all but the first just cracks me up. Very well done indeed.

[Kevin]

Great series Gary. I like your tighter crop on the in-flight, definitely a WOW capture.

[Stephen Stephen]

Great shots Gary. It's obvious that you got a lot of action on Saturday.

[Gary Fairhead]

Great shots Gary. It's obvious that you got a lot of action on Saturday.

Lots of action indeed Stephen but as canondslr mentions, the following day and the Owl wasn't very active....the opposite of the previous week...unpredictable. We missed you on Saturday...hope you are feeling better.


And thanks to Fee, Wayne, Reno and Kevin for looking and commenting.

[Sindri Skulason]

You are the Owl master. Again and again you send in stunning owl shots for us to enjoy. If I could get one owl shot like yours I would be over the moon. You are good...you are very good! :-)

[owlboy]

Gray Wrote: The Owl was inactive and almost skitish on Saturdays and then I hear it was just amazing on Sunday

Owls can become skitish when they know a preditor is near by. Possibly a Great-Horned Owl.

[catsith]

lovely shots gary, i especially love the potrait!
I am coming to canada this year, but not to ottowa:( , i am staying on the west side, doing british columbia and alberta. Would have been very nice to have met you in person.