The moment you realize that your cover is blown. This roosting male great horned owl was discovered by an inquisitive blue jay. Once one jay locates a raptor they sound the alarms and call in the cavalry. The jays will attempt to use strength in numbers to annoy birds of prey until they are driven away from the area.
#greathornedowl #bubovirgianus #birdsofprey #cincinnati #ethicalowlphoto #wildohio #bestofthebuckeyestate #owls #canonwildlifephotography #bb_of_ig #birds_captures #bestbirdshots #bird_brilliance #nature_brilliance #bluejay
Back in June, a couple friends of mine had contacted me after finding a young barred owI in need of some help at Burnet Woods. This specific foster owlet had already been previously rehabilitated by @raptor_inc and released. Now for the good news! The young owl was once again given the green light to make a second return to the wild! With no injuries present and having successfully passed live prey testing, the owlet stands a great chance at adapting to its new environment and surviving on its own. I released the owlet into another @cincyparks area park that has excellent barred owl habitat. With a mix of old growth forest heavy with sycamore trees, creeks and meadows the young owl will have plenty of habitat to take shelter in and a wide variety of prey to hunt. Best of luck to an already very lucky owl! Thanks to @megnichon for capturing the moment! Check out that head bobbing in the final video! 🙏🏻🪶
#barredowl #strixvaria #raptorinc #cincinnati #cincyparks #bestofthebuckeyestate #wildohio #birdsofprey #owls #wildlifeconservation #raptorconservation #burnetwoods
Snowed in. A barred owl pair shelters together in a dense pine blanketed with snow. These owls have specific wintering sites which differ from their usual daytime roosts and perches. They will often return to their favorite winter roosts as soon as the first significant snowfall accumulates.🌲❄️
#barredowl #strixvaria #owls #bestofthebuckeyestate #wildohio #canonwildlifephotography #cincinnati #birdsofprey #bird_brilliance #best_birds_of_ig #birds_captures #nature_brilliance #eye_spy_birds
An adult male Indigo Bunting foraging at just above eye level in a young pine stand. This bird and its song always makes me think of summer. Their bold color contrasts perfectly with the green tones of warmer seasons. 🔹🔹🔹
#indigobunting #redrivergorge #explorekentucky #canonwildlifephotography #best_bird_shots
From our favorite place deep in the holler, where the pond frogs croak and whip-poor-wills sing, two nature nerds (finally) got engaged.
“Will you accept my box of shiny things?” He asked.
“Of course I will.” Said she.
The box contained a gold freshwater pearl necklace and wedding rings passed down from their mothers. The rings will be recycled/repurposed into a new ring.
Thank you Kalie (@eyesonthestarss ) for designing the most beautiful and charming cake. We cannot stop eating it and will soon resemble Jabba the Frog 🐸
A Warbling Vireo sings with the purpose of announcing his arrival back to spring breeding grounds. Leaf out is already pretty far advanced for where we are normally at during April, so I was happy to catch him singing from a blooming locust tree. If you take a walk around the perimeter of the ponds at the cemetery it’s almost certain you will hear this species singing.🎶🌸
#warblingvireo #springmigration #springgrovecemetery #cincinnati #wildohio
Thankful for this earth, it’s immense natural resources and the wide variety of wildlife that we are so very fortunate to be able to observe, learn from and live alongside. Nature and even more specifically birds changed the path of my life over 10 years ago. Red-tailed hawks were one of the first species to spark that interest in me as an adult and looking back to my childhood, I can even remember watching for them from the car on roadtrips with my parents. I think now more than ever, we need to stay mindful and live out every day as if it is earth day. Here is a gorgeous red-tail banking left while on a hunt in the cemetery.🌎🌱🪶
#redtailedhawk #birdsofprey #bestofthebuckeyestate #cincinnati #earthday
The Acorn Woodpecker is one seriously beautiful bird. I finally had an excellent opportunity to photograph them while out west thanks to @santaritalodge
#acornwoodpecker #canonwildlifephotography #bb_of_ig #woodpecker #maderacanyon
We recently had an amazing opportunity to watch and photograph a nesting family of vermilion flycatchers, one of the Southwest’s most beautiful flycatcher species. The adult males show brilliant red with brown/black plumage. We visited them multiple times during our Arizona trip. The male was an excellent insect provider and a ham in front of the camera. The female seemed to dash in and out as quickly as possible. This carousel features some of my favorite images of the family over those days.
#vermilionflycatcher #canonwildlifephotography #arizona #birding #sweetwaterwetlandspark
It may not look like it, but this is the last face you want to see if you are a grasshopper in the Sonoran desert. Rock Wrens are a grasshoppers worst nightmare. Pallid-winged grasshoppers are surging in southwestern Arizona this spring and the desert dwelling birds are taking full advantage of their abundance. @megnichon and I spent the morning in Tucson Mountain Park watching the wrens bouncing all around the rocky slopes while chasing down the jumpy insects. No matter the habitat or species we’re big wren fans over here. Swipe through to see them doing their thing ↔️
#rockwren #saguaronationalpark #canonusa #arizonabirding
Spring is in full swing, redbud is blooming, birds are migrating and resident breeders are returning to their nesting territories. Eastern Phoebes are delicate little flycatchers that often build their nests on man-made structures. At the cemetery, they construct their nests on old mausoleums. Some pairs even build inside of the mausoleums. This phoebe was collecting spider webs from the eastern redbud for its nest with Dexter Mausoleum in the background. Look closely and you will see the spider webs in the first and third photos. 🌸🌱
#easternphoebe #springgrovecemetery #cincinnati #bestofthebuckeyestate #wildohio
After spending a considerable amount of time on the ground, thoroughly checking the ivy bed for shrews, a red-tailed hawk leaps into flight. The hawk attempted another hunt somewhere around 50 yards out. The sense of vision that these buteos possess is absolutely amazing.🪶
#redtailedhawk #birdsofprey #bestofthebuckeyestate #cincinnati #canonwildlifephotography
