By Dan Weisz
On Sunday, I was able to catch up with the Western Screech Owl youngsters. I hadn’t seen them for over a week.
The birds were on an upper branch so it was tough to get a good shot, and often one bird would have a hint of a second owl next to him. You can see that all of them are beginning to get their adult feathers, as there is a hint of vertical black stripes appearing on their breasts.
Either sleeping or deep in thought, perhaps mediating or just focusing on that stretch?
and a wide-awake stretch
Those talons!
Okay, this is cute…..
But this is cuter. The two photos below are among my favorites so far.
You can see that the bird on the left may have injured its eye. Owls can dilate the pupils of each eye separately from the other, but this bird has sustained this small pupil on its right eye for quite a while now. It may just be favoring that eye while it heals. In any case, it looks as healthy as the other two young so it must be eating and doing well.
That one toe hanging on….
Yes, I see you!
And yes, there will be more owl photos to come!