common_nature | Tawny owl

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[Grainy photo of a ~~short-eared~~ tawny owl sitting on a lawn]

I know this isn't the greatest photo of all time. In my defense, I did take it from behind a dusty windowpane in an upstairs bedroom where I was crouched breathlessly lest I frighten it off.

There've long been barn owls living at my partner's parents' home in rural Norfolk, but I'd never seen any other type of owl there. I was surprised, therefore, to see this tawny owl (h/t to

shapinglight for corrected identification) sitting on their lawn at dusk a couple of weeks ago. I worked out that it was watching a group of four partridges who were pecking through the pebbles in the drive, closer to the house. They seemed a rather optimistic target, given that the owl wasn't much bigger than they were.

The owl flew off and returned to the lawn several times whilst I watched, but never made a move on the partridges, who eventually moved onto the roof of the house and over to the other side.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

shapinglight

Hello there. Wonderful picture. How lucky that you saw it. It is actually a tawny owl.

From:

nanila

Oh, thank you for the corrected identification! :)

Reminder note for when I return to this post: It has black eyes (not yellow like the short-eared owl) and is also smaller than the short-eared owl.

From:

paw_prints

That's amazing that you were able to get so close! What a magnificently beautiful creature. I love owls.

From:

nanila

I was partially hidden behind a wall and had not yet turned on the lights in the bedroom. Otherwise it would likely have flown off before I could have photographed it.

From:

iddewes

How lovely that your partner's parents get owls in their garden! <3

Edited Date: 2017-07-20 09:10 am (UTC)

From:

nanila

Yes, they are very fortunate to live where they do. :)

From:

highlyeccentric

What a good owl!

From:

nanila

Yes! And an optimistic hunter. :D

From:

st_aurafina

What an amazing photo! Wow!

From:

nanila

Aw, thank you! I was definitely swearing to myself afterward that in future I would not leave my telephoto zoom (up to 200 mm) at home in favour of my 100 mm macro ever again. :P

From:

loligo

I lived in the woods for 10 years with barred owls all around us, and I never managed to get a decent picture! They are stealthy creatures.

From:

nanila

The whole "completely silent flight" thing doesn't help either. I looked away for half a second and it vanished!

ETA: I should note here that the window was open, so I could hear the partridges scratching about and burbling to one another. The owl? Not a sound.

Edited Date: 2017-07-25 01:42 pm (UTC)

From:

redsixwing

A wol! *g*

From:

nanila

Yussss! :D

From:

yourlibrarian

I did take it from behind a dusty windowpane in an upstairs bedroom where I was crouched breathlessly lest I frighten it off.

Heh, I can relate. It's always a toss up whether going for the camera and trying to get a photo will just scare the birds off so we can't even watch them.

Cute owl! We must have some in the area but I've yet to see any in the decade plus that we've been here.

From:

nanila

Fortunately I was able to twist around slowly, grab my camera off the dressing table and lower myself even further behind the wall that was partially obscuring me. I got about 10 snaps before it flew off, and this was the best one.

From:

veritas_poet

Oh, I think it's a wonderful picture! Totally natural/spontaneous. I can't imagine seeing an owl just on a lawn like that. I've only ever seen them on TV and perhaps in zoos.

I hate being a city person!