Pinnacles National Park / CA
gray fox @ point reyes national seashore CA
ATTITUDE. marking territority, not so concerned with us. on a mission to mark its space before the rains.
dark morph swainson’s hawk / yolo county ca
levitating coyote / Sacramento County CA
coyote with black ibis and water fowl / Sacramento County CA
still as breathtaking as ever
Red-Tailed Hawk
brother to Owl
light to dark
day to night
this is a pair of red-tailed hawks, likely mates, soaring over the cliffs in Western Sonoma County CA
one of them had particularly beautiful plumage, with very fine barring that can be seen with a picture enlarged …
also seen was a vulture prowling low along the cliffs over the Pacific
On Friday night, Venus, the waxing crescent Moon and Mars came together in a beautiful alignment. The norCal skies allowed unobstructed viewing with 60 degree evening temps and no wind. Mars appears very faint in between Venus and the Moon, but during early twilight it was difficult to see Mars. The purple sky was a striking backdrop. The three were all within 2 degrees of each other – the next night, Venus and Mars were even closer together and in conjunction (less than 1/2 a degree apart).
One of the last shots of the evening, the haze of some fog / cloud cover was encroaching and added an even more surreal effect …
MISSED SHOT OF THE EVENING … great-horned owl with backdrop of celestial alignment. Ack!!! I couldn’t get my tripod set up in time!! It’s an image that remains very clear in my mind though. This was the best I got before the owl flew off, just before my tripod was set and camera settings dialed in …
owl, venus, mars and moon
For the last two weeks, on at least six different nights, I’ve seen one of the pairs of owls who inhabit the area of my regular wanders mate. Owl love-making, owl coitus. Oh yeah.
I’ve gotten some decent audio recordings of it (wow, that sounds weird), but finally on Friday night I got a few photos (now it sounds even weirder). Owl voyeurism, what can I say. Happy they felt comfortable, and I take it as a sign that I’m doing a good job of making my presence unknown or, if they see me, not to put stress on the animals. I feel confident saying that they probably didn’t feel stressed.
It was past sunset, so the natural light was not so good, but it was really amazing to see, hear, and it left just enough light to photograph.
First, the female came out from her roost and was making vocalizations, presumably inviting the male in for some fun with that, um, sexy penetrating gaze?
female great-horned owl
After a few minutes, her seductive gaze shifted to a spot on the live-oak tree about 20 feet away where the male owl alighted …
female great-horned owl gazing at male
The male perched on the other side of the same oak tree, surveying the surroundings (trying to look cool and non-nonchalant, I think).
handsome fella, ready for love – male great-horned owl
Within a minute of the two being perched together on top of the tree, the male flew over and mounted the female to mate. Owls evidently aren’t so much into the foreplay stuff. Or, it’s indiscernible to human observers.
They sounded like a mixture between chimpanzees and some sort of song bird rapidly singing. It starts with a repetitive low “hoo hoo hoo” that sounds like a chimp or orangutang and quickly turns into a high frequency chirping sound. All in all in takes about 3 to 5 seconds. Fast and furious, a short but evidently fulfilling rendezvous. Not that you could tell by their reactions afterwards.
great-horned owls mating
great-horned owls mating
great-horned owls mating
post-coitus great-horned owls (female on right with tail still raised)
Afterwards, there was no cuddling. They both seemed pretty stand-offish, ready for breakfast …
the after-glow? post coitus GHOW’s.
Within a minute or so, the male flew off to start hunting for the night.
male GHOW flies off, fun is done
Hopefully I’ll see some owlets sometime soon.
feralzach 