Saturday 3 September 2011

A ghostly owl

Last year I blogged about owls, one of those birds that fascinate me. They are impressive creatures, even in captivity. I saw some in the wild (the back garden in Chicoutimi, there was a snowy owl who made a feast of some of the birds there), heard some in the wild...

And last weekend, we went to a country fayre and there was a birds of prey display, including some owls. I quickly took a few snapshots. I will publish more of them in the following days and weeks. You can tell autumn is here and Halloween is coming, I am in this state of mind. I said before that owls are ghostly, because of both their appearance and their cry. Even in the middle of the day, you can easily see why on this picture. It looks terrifying.

6 comments:

PJ said...

Tu en inventes, le harfang mange des souris et des mulots (dont il y avait des traces évidentes dans la neige), rarement d'autres oiseaux (ça, ce sont les éperviers qu'on a eu la même année; les faucons et les buses aussi).

Anyway, c'est drôle que tu parles de hiboux, j'ai justement rêvé d'avoir vu un harfang (et un pygargue à tête blanche) cette nuit. Le harfang était d'ailleurs agressif envers moi (et le pygargue), je ne sais trop pourquoi.

skyeflower said...

In many African cultures they are greatly feared as bringers of the news of death. It is considered very bad luck to see one. But as scary as they look, i find them quite beautiful

Gwen Buchanan said...

oh What a beauty!!! you must be quick to capture them with the camera..
what eyesight they must have too to do most all their hunting at night!!

oh please don't wish for fall too soon ... I need more summer days...

suzanne said...

Terrifying indeed. They appear so aloof and watchful.

The Artful Gypsy aka Wendy the Very Good Witch said...

Wow....that one is really beautiful. Love the feathery fluff on his legs. I don't think they are evil at all. I find them very wise and watchful. Lovely photo!

Guillaume said...

Somehow I knew this post was going to be popular. Thank you all for your comments.