I find owls to be the most fun and exciting of all birds to see in the wild. They are challenging because most birders will not reveal their location, and they seldom get listed on eBird alerts. So it has taken me years to see all these species, and most of them with the help of professional guides.
Most of these pictures were shot during the day. My first experience with night owl photography was in Kerala, where our guide somehow managed to find 3 species in complete darkness; and most recently in Arizona, where our group saw the Whiskered Screech-Owl near our lodge (with the help of a thermal scanner!).
Species seen so far (color codes: USA, India, Kenya, Portugal+Spain, Nepal, Panama):
Total species seen- 24 (note that 2 were seen in different countries so counted twice, and I am not counting the Pueo as a separate species). The images are arranged in order of the list above. I start with my worst image of an owl because that was my first sighting of a GHO, barely seen in a tree, at the Henderson nature reserve in Vegas. Since then, I have had the pleasure of seeing this magnificent animal in many places, none better than watching a family of GHOs nesting right in my neighborhood, at Holly Park.
Most times I have been looking for them, but sometimes they show up unexpectedly. My first ever owl sighting was the Barred Owl that I just came across in a city park in Nashville in 2006, which was sitting so motionless on a tree close to the trail, that at first I thought it was a cardboard cutout! I have tried without success to see the Barred Owl in CA, where they are now present in increasing numbers in recent years.
Most of these pictures were shot during the day. My first experience with night owl photography was in Kerala, where our guide somehow managed to find 3 species in complete darkness; and most recently in Arizona, where our group saw the Whiskered Screech-Owl near our lodge (with the help of a thermal scanner!).
Species seen so far (color codes: USA, India, Kenya, Portugal+Spain, Nepal, Panama):
- Great Horned
- Barred
- Burrowing
- Barn
- Spotted
- Northern Saw-whet
- Short-eared
- Long-eared
- Eastern Screech
- Whiskered Screech
- Hawaiian Short-eared Owl or Pueo (sub-species endemic to Hawaii)
- Dusky Eagle-Owl
- Spotted Owlet
- Collared Scops Owl
- Indian Scops Owl
- Short-eared
- Brown Hawk-Owl (aka Brown Boobook)
- Mottled Wood Owl
- Spot-bellied Eagle-Owl
- Verraux's Eagle-Owl
- Little Owl
- Spotted Owlet
- Asian Barred Owlet
- Spectacled
- Mottled
- Tropical Screech
- Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (Panama+Mexico)
Total species seen- 24 (note that 2 were seen in different countries so counted twice, and I am not counting the Pueo as a separate species). The images are arranged in order of the list above. I start with my worst image of an owl because that was my first sighting of a GHO, barely seen in a tree, at the Henderson nature reserve in Vegas. Since then, I have had the pleasure of seeing this magnificent animal in many places, none better than watching a family of GHOs nesting right in my neighborhood, at Holly Park.
Most times I have been looking for them, but sometimes they show up unexpectedly. My first ever owl sighting was the Barred Owl that I just came across in a city park in Nashville in 2006, which was sitting so motionless on a tree close to the trail, that at first I thought it was a cardboard cutout! I have tried without success to see the Barred Owl in CA, where they are now present in increasing numbers in recent years.
