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From Izzy Edwards

Young Barn Owl stares at me from the edge of a King County forest. (Washington)

From Jack Uellendahl

Northern Saw-whet owl. This is the first one we've had at the water hole. I was very excited to see it on the back of the camera! Captured with my camera trap set-up using Cognisys PIR sensor, Nikon Z6ii, Z28mm lens.

From Raptors Rise Rehab Center

How big is Charlie, our education Screech Owl? Here are some pictures with feathers for comparison!

This photo is a Bald Eagle tail feather.

From Daniel Ardnt

Learning time! Why on earth would a white bird perch so obviously on a black, man-made structure low to the ground? It's all about thermal efficiency! The natural gas flowing through the pipe, and the black material that wraps around it, are both heat sources for these birds. While the temperature isn't too cold right now in Calgary, saving even the smallest amount of energy is critical to their overwintering success.

From Mark Kula

Shake them tailfeathers!!! Snowy in Western Ma.

From Jason Fowler

This is why you leave owls alone when they are on eggs. People think the owl isn't stressed standing under her talking loudly with other people.

I haven't left this branch in 19 days.

It's 4°F. The wind is 25 mph. The wind chill is -15°F. (That's -15C, 40 kmh, and -26C respectively.)

I am a Great Horned Owl, and I am incubating three eggs that cannot survive one hour without my body heat.

- I cannot leave to hunt. My mate brings me food, when he can find it.

- I've lost 15% of my body weight since I started sitting.

-My feathers are caked with ice. I cannot preen.

- I rotate my eggs every 30 minutes, even at 3 AM.

- I have 9 more days of this before they hatch.

Beneath me, three heartbeats depend on my stillness. If I leave for 20 minutes, they die. If I shift wrong, they freeze on one side. If a predator comes, I must fight without abandoning the nest.

Motherhood is not a feeling. It is a 28-day siege.

From Bhaskar Nandi

Sri Lankan Bay Owl

Thattekad Bird Santuary, Kerala

DOC: 9th January '26

From Nebraska Wildlife Rehab

Our faces when someone mentions the news 👀

There's so much going on in our country and in many ways, it feels odd to share photos and stories that don't relate to these crucial moments that are unfolding so close to home. We hope the resilience of our wildlife can serve as a reminder to stay strong and remember the goodness of people in our communities. We're lucky to witness it every day - from rescuers, to volunteers, to our incredible staff and supporters.

From Neil Simmons

It's fun to see the eyes on the back of a Pygmy owls head. When I'm photographing one it gets tricky knowing which way they are looking. I can't help but chuckle when I hear someone next to me clicking their camera shutter at the wrong time. These eyes on the back of their heads are a defense mechanism warding off predators and making themselves appear larger than they are.

The proper term for this eye mimicry is "ocelli", a diminutive of the Latin "oculus", which means eye, so ocelli are "little eyes".

From Owl Rescue Centre

Last week, we did a fundraiser to cover a 3,200km journey for three very different patients. It was a smallish challenge, starting with the last rescue first, this "big budgie"-a Verreaux Eagle Owl that weighs over 3kg who was destined to be loaded into a crate and exported to a far away country. By absolute luck, we managed to intercept that transaction just in time. She is now safe with us.

Next was a baby girl baboon; a straightforward rescue after a kind couple found her following the tragic loss of her mother. They gave her a week of love and care before we arrived. She is now safely at CARE: Centre for Animal Rehabilitation and Education in Phalaborwa.

Finally, we rescued a juvenile Black Sparrowhawk that had chased a pigeon into a massive church and trapped himself inside, repeatedly bouncing off the windows. We rescued him and is now also with us, but just for a few days until healthy.

A huge thank you to everyone who donated, and a special shout-out to CemAir and LIFT Airline for sponsoring one of the flights. You guys are real 😉

From The News Tribune

This Super Bowl season, a certain bird has been dominating headlines. The Seattle Seahawks, of course, who are slated to take on the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8.

At the Point Defiance Zoo, there’s another bird getting extra attention this time of year: Forrest, who is the zoo’s most superb owl, according to zookeepers.

A Eurasian eagle owl, Forrest has lived at the Point Defiance Zoo for almost all 20 years of his life. He stands at over a foot tall (he should be close to 2 ft / 60 cm tall) and weighs four pounds (1.8 kg), but his massive wingspan and the formidable expression that perpetually lives on his face gives him a frightening look.

In reality, Forrest is actually an incredibly charming bird, according to staff biologist Erica Baker. He’s comfortable and confident around people because he was raised around them. He’s also known to be chatty, Baker said. “If we are walking near his habitat that he lives in, you’ll hear him making sounds that are not necessarily a hoot, which is more of a territorial call, he’ll do a lot of other smaller chirps and things that are more friendly chatter to the keepers around,” she told The News Tribune.

The recent surge in Forrest’s popularity comes as some Super Bowl fans engage in the annual tradition of attempting to search “Super Bowl” and end up typing in “Superb Owl” instead. It’s an annual cultural phenomenon that might have started as a typo or as a joke, NPR reported. At Point Defiance Zoo, it’s a chance to talk about Forrest. It’s his charisma and personality that have made him a fixture in the Wild Wonders outdoor theater and the daily “animal encounters” programming the zoo puts on. The event is a chance for zoo visitors to see some of its animals in action, and Forrest often closes out the event with big swooping flights from one end of the auditorium to the other, squawking as he is known to do.

Forrest, a Eurasian eagle owl, takes flight during a daily “animal encounters” program.

His performance often elicits literal oohs and ahhs, Baker said. “Most people are just in awe,” she said. His time at the zoo hasn’t always been straightforward. In 2014 he flew off during a rehearsal for his performance at the outdoor theater. Baker said it was a windy day and a handful of crows mobbed him as he was flying out. His keepers think he got confused and flew out and got lost in Point Defiance Park, she said. It started a three-day search to find the missing owl, which flew straight to his keepers once they found him. When he’s not impressing guests in the Wild Wonders outdoor theater, Forrest likes to eat mice and sometimes rabbits as a treat. He also enjoys what his keepers call “enrichment,” which for Forrest entails shredding heads of cabbage into pulp with his massive talons. This Super Bowl season, zoo staff are trading the cabbage heads for coconuts – to look like footballs. “He doesn’t eat it, he just likes to shred it,” Baker said.

Forrest, a Eurasian eagle owl, swoops in on a piece of mouse meat placed in an enclosure.

On game day, Baker estimates that Forrest will likely be out flying, and if he’s not flying he’ll be shredding something. Forrest isn’t a huge fan of hawks – his neighbor at the zoo is a Harris hawk, and the birds of prey can be competitive with each other. But he’s definitely a Seahawks fan, she said. “I think Forrest would make an excellent wide receiver,” Baker said. Visit Forrest at the Point Defiance Zoo’s Wild Wonders outdoor theater located at 2 North Waterfront Drive in Tacoma. As of Jan. 9, visitors sporting Seahawks gear will get $5 off general admission tickets.

From Ivan Putter

Flying brown Teddy bears (Pel's Fishing Owls) of Mapungubwe (South Africa).

Since great captures of a pretty uncommon owl!