The funny bunny legs are great! I always like seeing those too.
The eyes do make a bold statement. If it's helpful, they're not that big (16 inches / 40 cm) and just look like grumpy potatoes in person.
Hah, you're right!
They said this one was them playing with textures, which I had to look up. It sounds like they add a layer on top of the photo with a texture filter and then blend the layers as desired. It sounds fun, I may have to try it myself.
They bear some of that family resemblance. 🦖
"The mother of my children." is the quote from the video.
I will often mean to get to bed at a decent time, but then I just kinda sit there in a daze and the next thing I know it's midnight-ish. Time is just all wonky on me.
They're not welcome at Superbowl if I have any say about it!
Some people say they know they cant believe,
the owls, we have a bobsled team!
We have the one Pierce,
and the one Burrowing Bea,
Great Horned Iris,
and the big girl Alice!
The circle of life!
I was worried about early dementia or getting some kind of chemical exposure at work or something. It's been getting bad. I've been falling asleep when I've been bored at work, getting way too close to it while driving to work, and I haven't been able to enjoy stuff I normally do. It's not the same dragging and depression I had before getting my depression treated, but similar in some ways, like all my interests I wanted to put time to, but I've just been so run down it felt like I didn't have it in me to keep doing all my owl research, study my music, take care of the house, etc. I'm hoping this will get me back in the game because it's made life really hard. Two or 3 nights this week I've come home from work and laid down just to rest my eyes and the next thing I know the alarm is going off to get up for work again.
I've still got a bunch of bloodwork to do, but my regular doc seemed to think strongly this was going to be what it was. I did a home sleep test that was really easy and affordable ($200). I just had to wear this watch with a finger clip and stick on chest sensor for a night and then upload it to an app and I got my results in 2 days. If you're wondering if you have sleep apnea, it's pretty simple and painless. If you want the site where I ordered mine I can tell you. The doctor gave me a pamphlet with a few companies, but I liked this one for its simple language, upfront pricing, and the guy who runs the place looks like a regular Joe with sleep apnea himself so he seemed legit. 😄
The owls will be replacing competitors from the countries which can't seem to stop doping athletes.
I'd watch that...
From Dawn Barrowcliff
Good morning. Here are some shots that I've taken of the shorties this past fall and winter! 💕 Such fun owls to watch!!
From Lisa Cuchara
Fascinating to see, even though it's home was the Arctic, it knows to try to sit out of the snow -- sitting on grasses, sitting on the feet (see previous image) of a rabbit it killed, etc.
Taken, handheld, using the OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-400mm F4.5 TC1.25X IS PRO on the OM-1 mark II.
We are so thankful for The Raptor Center's mobile vet unit! Dr. Annette and Jamie came down yesterday to give all seven of our owls their annual checkups, including radiographs for some. This prevents the owls from having to spend five hours in a vehicle being transported to and from The Raptor Center, and saves Owl Center staff a lot of time since it would take more than one trip to haul everybirdy up there.
Check the comments for all their adventures!
Let's get ready to rumb-owl! 🦉👑🏈🥇
With just about two weeks to go until the Super Bowl AND the return of our Superb Owl Saturday event (Super Bowl, Superb Owl — See what we did there? Owl puns abound), we're going to have a bit of fun...
For the next two weeks, these eight owls will face off for the title of Superb Owl (as you might imagine, a coveted title in the avian world), and we need your help choosing our winner! Starting this Saturday, come back here to vote for your favorites in each of the seven knock-out rounds.
And of course, for a hoot of owl-related fun, join us for Superb Owl Saturday and Owl Prowl on Feb. 7! (Register at the link below)
May the most Superb Owl win! See you this Saturday for our first face-off 🦉
I guess someone was upset Screech Owl didn't win and made a new tournament where it's in there twice! 😄
I'll allow this unauthorized imitation of our real owl tournament this time, BAS, but don't press your luck!
From Thomas Becher
Owls always are very adorable and fascinating to me!
Long-eared owl
Canon EOS R5m2 * EF 300 mm f/2.8 L IS II USM
1/800 Sec. * f/2.8 * 300 mm * ISO 200
Germany, December 2025
From ARC
It's that time of year again: Great Horned Owl baby season! Our surrogate mom, Nonamé, has been preparing and exhibiting her typical nesting behaviors, such as taking apart her perches to gather nesting material and spending more time on her lower perch, where she typically watches her owlets.
As we have done in past years, we have given Nonamé a nest on the ground made of sticks, pine needles, pine cones, and various greenery. Since Nonamé is unable to fly, her nest is located on the ground. Great horned owls do not build their own nests from scratch; instead, they utilize pre-existing nests, often adding materials like moss, pine needles, and discarded feathers. Nonamé has been diligently rearranging her nest, adjusting the sticks and other materials to her liking.
From Meaghan Garrahan
So often when I'm editing owls I'm thinking I wish people weren't looking at them on their little phone screens because there's no way it could do their beauty justice 🥹
From Rhody Peach
The Northern Hawk Owl is a striking bird that looks like a mash-up of an owl and a hawk. Unlike most owls, it has a long tail and a slim, streamlined body that gives it a very hawk-like silhouette in flight. Its bold black-and -white facial markings and piercing yellow eyes make it instantly recognizable, even from a distance.
One of the most unusual things about the Northern Hawk Owl is that it is active during the day. While many owls hunt at night, this species prefers daylight, especially in the long summer days of the far north. Its excellent eyesight allows it to spot prey from treetops or utility poles, where it sits perfectly still before swooping down with incredible speed and accuracy.
Northern Hawk Owls are powerful hunters despite their moderate size. They mainly feed on small mammals such as voles and mice, but they will also catch birds when the opportunity arises. In years when rodent populations boom, these owls may raise more young and even expand their range farther south than usual, surprising birdwatchers in places where they are rarely seen.
These owls are native to the boreal forests of North America, Europe, and Asia, thriving in cold climates with open woodland and clearings. Instead of nesting in tree cavities like many owls, Northern Hawk Owls often use broken treetops or abandoned nests left behind by other large birds. This preference for exposed nesting sites gives them excellent visibility but also makes them more vulnerable to predators.
Another fascinating trait is their fearless personality. Northern Hawk Owls are known to aggressively defend their territory and young, sometimes diving at animals-and even humans-that come too close. This bold behavior, combined with their sharp hunting skills and daytime activity, makes the Northern Hawk Owl one of the most distinctive and captivating owls in the world.
From Tristan Williams
Scottish Owl Centre
We recently put together two new pairs of Indian Eagle Owls. The new males have very different personalities.
One seems more mature and is wooing Meena, 28 years old and takes no shit, with food offerings in the (wrong) nestbox. The other fella has a big attitude.
These pics show his reaction when he first spotted our nosey Steppe Eagle looking down at him. No shits given.
I imagine him saying in a Glaswegian accent 'yeah? come down here an I'll kick your teeth in'.
His new blonde lady friend seems quite impressed, like 'oooh look at him' lol. 😄
From Seaside Seabird Sanctuary
They grow up so fast! 🥲
We wanted to share a progress report on our young Eastern Screech-Owl patient! The owl is developing quickly, and has now reached the stage where it is perching and beginning to self-feed.
It never ceases to amaze us how quickly baby birds grow and develop - For many species of bird, the process of development from still incubating within the egg until they leave the nest as a fledgling is often less than a month!
We're excited to see this little one continue to develop and grow, and to soon be returned back into the wild!
From Alan Murphy
You normally see and capture burrowing owls on the ground - but I got this one banking!
From Souvik Kundu
Eurasian Scops Owl (Otus scops)
A true needle-in-a-haystack migrant, the Eurasian Scops Owl is one of the rarest owls you can hope to see in India, with only a handful of confirmed records from the subcontinent so far.
Breeding in southern Europe and western-central Asia, it normally winters in Africa, and only a few stragglers reach western India during autumn migration. Published records come mainly from coastal Gujarat and, very recently, Kolkata's outskirts, underlining how exceptional any Indian sighting is.
Very few accepted records are known from Maharashtra, so this sighting represents a landmark.
Panje, Uran January 2026
Screech Owls are everywhere between northern Mexico and southern Canada. They're small, about 8 in / 20 cm, and they weigh 160, about the weight of a billiard ball.
I released one in my back yard, and add soon as it got in a tree, it practically vanished. They're nocturnal, so they're usually hidden in a cavity during the day. Their markings are so well suited for blending into trees.
I'd really like to get some size/weight accurate mock ups of a Screech and a Great Horn for our open house. Since we can't let the public hold owls, I think it'd be a very useful aid.
I'm glad you enjoyed OotY, it teaches a ton and still just scratches the surface of all there is to know about these amazing animals. If there's anything in particular you want to see or ask about, feel free anytime. Just drop a comment somewhere, I read them all. It doesn't need to be about the subject of the post or anything, I'm here to talk about what you want to learn.