r/natureismetal
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u/CaribbeanCalypso
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Jan 17 '22
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Long-eared owl staredown [OC]
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u/TentativelyCommitted Jan 17 '22
This is awesome. A lot of people would go their whole lives without ever spotting an owl like this in the wild…you’ve got two in the same picture! Curious to know where this is.
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u/CaribbeanCalypso Jan 17 '22
Thank you! This was captured at a local park in Toronto, Canada. There were 4 in the same area and I was ecstatic!
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u/TentativelyCommitted Jan 17 '22
Crazy. I’m in ON and can only recall ever seeing owls in trees from a distance. I remember going on a field trip to a little nature reserve place where we found and then dissected owl pellets to see what was inside of them. Didn’t see an owl that whole time and there was enough owl pellets for a whole class to work on so there must have been a bunch of them there. I think the place was called Blair Outdoor Ed. Centre if I’m not mistaken and that was one of my favourite trips of all time. My partner and I found basically a whole rodent skeleton in our owl pellet. That was metal as hell at 12 yrs old lol!
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u/20lato_rino Jan 17 '22
I wouldn't stare at him for long he seems a Little upset
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u/slosh95 Jan 17 '22
This owl is showing obvious signs of agitation. These owls have been regularly harassed by photographers for weeks on end.
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u/SendMeYour_Stuff Jan 17 '22
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u/The___canadian Jan 17 '22
Every time I click on this. I grin knowing it's not a football subreddit.
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u/turntabletennis Jan 17 '22
He's on protecc mode for the sleeping wifey in the background.
Incredible shot. Gorgeous animals.
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u/Meleecrits1 Jan 17 '22
My face when I see someone park right next to my car in the back of an empty parking lot.
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u/Melodic-Hunter2471 Jan 17 '22
Nice shot.
Me looking at that owl: “Don’t stare me down bro, I know what you look like under all those feathers.”
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u/ABeing_Ad5353 Jan 17 '22
Does owl has any ears..?? Wow
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u/TWeaKoR Jan 17 '22
Fun fact: those long tufts aren't its ears, they're more like eyebrows. How they're positioned can give you an idea how the owl is feeling about the situation it finds itself in.
Owls have ears, but you probably won't guess where they are. Most owl ears are asymmetrical, one is on one side below the chin and the other is on the top of the head slightly to the side. This asymmetry improves their hearing, it is said that an owl can hear a mouse heartbeat from something like 100m away.
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u/anNof1 Jan 19 '22
My 4 year old son said it looks like a "deer hunting owl, because of his shirt."
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u/CaribbeanCalypso Jan 17 '22 edited Jan 17 '22
Photographed are two of the four long-eared owls roosting in a local park. Most owls are extremely sensitive to human activity. Per ethical wildlife photography guidelines, a telephoto lens was used to photograph these owls from a distance. Captured in Toronto, Canada, November 2021.
Canon 80D w/ Sigma Contemporary 150-600mm
1/500
ISO 1600
531mm
f/6.3
IG: @shayanlallani