Great Horned Fledgling

[jeeperman]

I was quite pleased having finally found this guy before leaving. I never did find his sibling. One had fledged yesterday and returned later to the nest. I had hoped to catch them in the nest but I was a day late. Happy with these though.

[Teton Chuck]

Paul, beautiful photos. You have captured all the important characteristics of the owl. Thanks for sharing.

[waha]

Fabulous.
Did you notice that the fluffer is making a creditable effort to smile for the camera in photo#2?

[jeeperman]

Thank you, Chuck and Wayne. I tried to catch his different antics. The little guy was quite fun to watch. He smiles quite well, doesn't he.

[pnodrog]

Great camera presence - heading for Hollywood maybe cast as a judge. Paul you may get a job as his agent.

[Tony M]

They're fantastic photos Paul, I don't know if it was deliberate, but I like how the twigs in #3, #4 and #5 draw the viewer's eye towards the bird's face. And the V-shaped frame of #2 is also well done.

Tony

[jeeperman]

Thank you, Paul. He was surely the star of the day.

Thank you as well, Tony. Most of the time I was shooting him his eys were covered by a branch, so everytime he moved just a little in the right direction I would wait for things to line up and catch a shot, He got tired of the branchs hitting him in the face and would break them off with his beak, which is why they go just to his face but not acrossed while he is on the log.

[Otavio]

Very nice set! Nice details. My favourite is #1, despite of the thin branches in front of its face (a pity). Well done, Paul, and thanks for sharing these!
Cheers...

[jprzybyla]

Just beautiful Paul... nothing else to say.

[jeeperman]

Thank you, Otavio and Joe. The branches were a bit of a pitty, I am just glad he jumped out to the log where he was more clear of them. I would usually liked to flatten out the angle some by getting further away {and I had plenty of room to do so} but I liked the perspective in these images partly because he was a baby and it added vulnerability but also because this is an owl that lives in heavily forrested areas and is found in the trees. They go to ground for a short period when leaving the nest and are rarely seen from above and almost never seen at waters edge.

[Bobobird]

Beautiful captures. Catching them on the ground is something next to impossible. Well done there sir.

I should start looking around too.

[terrib]

Great job of catching him between the twigs. These are really nice. #3 & 6 are my favorites.

[Shadowman]

Very nice photos, those talons look dangerous even at that age.

[jeeperman]

Thank you, Bobo. These guys were pretty early, I don't think they usually even nest yet much less have young.

Thank you as well, Terri and John.

[dulceza]

Catching them on the ground is something next to impossible

How close were you to the bird ?Did you use camouflage? Please give us some details
Incredible captures, wow !!!!

[Brownbear]

Gorgeous, incredible and inspiring.. thank you for sharing.

[jeeperman]

Dora, no cammo needed. The tricky part is finding these little guys once they leave the nest. The nest was about 50 or so feet off the trail. Knowing this and that they normally stay close to the nest meant it was just a matter of location. Sounds simple ehh? These guys are camoflouged very well and could be in a tree or in the ground cover. We spent a good 4-5hrs searching, found mother and then father was chased threw by some ravens.

A buddy and I nearly gave up and then he was spotted not 15ft off the trail down a hill alongside a small creek burried in some brush behind a stump. There was no way to get a descent shot due to the branches he was hiding in. Luckily he got tired of the branches in his face and jumped to a log. He had smaller branches in his way and proceeded to bite them in half. Hence the braches that just barely reach his face.

He was not happy to see us at first and once he moved to the log felt more secure and put on quite the show between the branches, preening and just making faces at us. He was still there on the log when we left.

The only cropping on these images was to change the ratio. Just a little off the top and bottom.

[jeeperman]

Thank you, Christina.

[Andrew1]

An amazing find. I bet you spent a lot longer than intended on your walk.

[jeeperman]

Thank you, Andrew. Actually it was an 1 1/2 drive each way, I intended to stay the whole day.