I missed posting yesterday, as I had a 3 am alarm for a birding trip down to Salton Sea. And I'm late posting today, as I REALLY slept in after the trip! One of my target birds for the trip was this Burrowing Owl--I saw quite a few. I had thought the babies would be out of the nest by now and I would see family groups, but not this time. The ones I did see seemed to be standing sentinel, probably near the nest sites. At any rate, I managed to add 8 bird species to my year list, so It was a successful trip! 5/24/21 www.sparhawkphotograaphy.com
When I was birding down at Salton Sea, I was driving down a dirt road and passed this Burrowing Owl perched on a sign. I did a quick U-turn and came slowly back up the road. It wasn't until I was quite near that I saw what the sign said! He remained perched on one foot, watching me as I slowly eased closer and closer to get the angle I wanted. After a few shots I moved on, as he continued guarding his nest site. 5/25/21 wwwsparhawkphotography.com
When I was birding at Big Morongo Canyon Preserve, I spotted this Barn Owl in his daytime roost high up in a palm tree, snoozing the day away. In order to see him, you had to peer up under some palm fronds and between the branches of another tree. While I was watching, a breeze came up and blew the offending branches out of the way, and I had an almost-clear shot of him. Turned out to be a two owl day, as I also saw a Great Horned Owl on its nest--nowhere near a view like Bill's Athena! 4/16/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com