These are all beautiful images. I have tried to save them as use them as screen savers and desktops. I have been unsuccessful. Is that because I have to change their format?
Great question. During the irruption period I recorded 7 individual owls on the habitat: 1 female and 6 males. I had a high count of three owls sharing the habitat at the same time, and two individuals (first a female, then a male) who defended the habitat (chased off) from other owls.
“Avalanche” features at least 4 of the 7. The female and three of the males for sure. But there is a chance a few are actually of some of the other three.
The uncertainty is because a.) I often separate behavioral observations, ID, and tracking sessions from photography time and b.) I ID the individuals by using the fingerprints on their tail feathers. In order to see the tail feathers clear enough to get an ID, you need the owl to fly away from you. This is very difficult to see without chasing or scaring them away. This happens often when lots of people are crowding around the owls, so I use those opportunities to get IDs. (More than a few photogs have asked me how come they never see me shoot… that’s because when lots of people are around is the best time to get tail feathers and learn about their personalities!)
When I’m doing photography, I’m usually set up so the owl will fly to me and not away from me… which means that on some shoots I can’t be 100% sure which individual it was because I can’t see the tail feathers.
What I can tell you is that this (Snowflake #13) is most certainly SNOW #M04, who I like to call “Lil’ Nitwit.” To make things more confusing, the title of this piece is “Loona” even though “Loona” is actually the name of of SNOW #F01, the sole female, who was featured in Snowflake #12, “Tower of Bubo” !
Readings From The Northside 
So nice. Thanks
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You’re welcome, I’m glad you like this one. Magical moment.
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These are all beautiful images. I have tried to save them as use them as screen savers and desktops. I have been unsuccessful. Is that because I have to change their format?
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Mac or PC? You should be able to click-to-enlarge, save the image, and use.
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I think this is my favorite so far!
How many different individuals do you think there were in these photos?
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Great question. During the irruption period I recorded 7 individual owls on the habitat: 1 female and 6 males. I had a high count of three owls sharing the habitat at the same time, and two individuals (first a female, then a male) who defended the habitat (chased off) from other owls.
“Avalanche” features at least 4 of the 7. The female and three of the males for sure. But there is a chance a few are actually of some of the other three.
The uncertainty is because a.) I often separate behavioral observations, ID, and tracking sessions from photography time and b.) I ID the individuals by using the fingerprints on their tail feathers. In order to see the tail feathers clear enough to get an ID, you need the owl to fly away from you. This is very difficult to see without chasing or scaring them away. This happens often when lots of people are crowding around the owls, so I use those opportunities to get IDs. (More than a few photogs have asked me how come they never see me shoot… that’s because when lots of people are around is the best time to get tail feathers and learn about their personalities!)
When I’m doing photography, I’m usually set up so the owl will fly to me and not away from me… which means that on some shoots I can’t be 100% sure which individual it was because I can’t see the tail feathers.
What I can tell you is that this (Snowflake #13) is most certainly SNOW #M04, who I like to call “Lil’ Nitwit.” To make things more confusing, the title of this piece is “Loona” even though “Loona” is actually the name of of SNOW #F01, the sole female, who was featured in Snowflake #12, “Tower of Bubo” !
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Thank you for the insight, I appreciate it so much!
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You’re welcome. As my friends and family like to say “Don’t ask him unless you really, really want to know!”
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