Northern Hawk Owls Part 2

Greg Schneider — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 17:00:24 +0000

Ottawa was host to at least one hawk owl last winter. They are more common at those latitudes, but still don’t occur that often; in fact I haven’t seen one this year, although there have been a few scattered reports. The light was better than on my previous trips to the local hawk owl the previous year.

Northern Hawk Owl perched (click to enlarge)

Northern Hawk Owl in flight (click to enlarge)

Northern Hawk Owl catching prey (click to enlarge)

Northern Hawk Owl on birch (click to enlarge)

See more raptor images here

Northern Hawk Owls

Greg Schneider — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:27:27 +0000

Raptors are always one of my favourite subjects to photograph. Their size makes them easy to spot and they are generally more approachable in the winter, and the absence of leaves on trees makes them even easier to spot as they often hunt on roadsides.

One of the more unusual owls for a southern area Northern Hawk Owl. We had one over-winter near Hamilton in 2008 and it stayed for about two months. It was an unprecedented bird for the area, and many people saw it during its stay. A small, falcon-like owl, it lives up to its name – hunting by day and mostly by sight. They can be quite aggressive, and show little fear of people.

This Hawk Owl posed for a few minutes on this pole, seemingly showing off his catch. (click to enlarge)

Captured just as he was about to land on his prey (click to enlarge)

Here's another angle on him as he was pouncing (click to enlarge)

Owls tend to mantle their prey, hiding them from view in case other predators are around, then kill them and fly away to eat them. (click to enlarge)

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Northern Hawk Owls Part 2

Northern Hawk Owls