Long Eared Owl in Thickson's Woods
Last Sunday, while on an errand in Whitby, I decided to stop at Thickson’s Woods. This area of the Waterfront Trail at the south end of Thickson’s Road, often yields many surprises. On the few visits that I’ve made there since the Spring of 2010, I have seen 2 great horned owls sitting together about 15 feet up in an old pine, various warblers, nuthatches, woodpeckers, mocking birds and many other birds that I was unable to identify as I am very new to “birding”.
As Joe and I entered the paved path heading east, I happened to look to my right, and in the dappled sunlight of one our rare sunny winter days, was a beautiful creature with large yellow eyes and big ears. It was perched amidst a group of smaller trees. I knew it was an owl but not a variety that I’d ever seen. I then indicated to the couple walking a short distance behind us that they should look to my right. By then, I had my camera with its new 100 – 400 mm. lens shooting in continuous mode as many shots as I could get. I was afraid that the owl would take flight and I’d miss my chance. As it turned out, it stayed there for a long time and once I relaxed a bit, I asked the man behind us if he knew what kind it was. He said he thought that it was a Long Eared Owl. He was also taking pictures and we both attempted to get shots at different angles hoping to get a few without branches in front of the owl.
When Joe finally “dragged” me away from the trail, we headed home and I reviewed my pictures on the computer. I was somewhat disappointed with the results. It seemed that the lens was focusing on the branches rather than the breast of the long-eared owl. Still, for someone who has only seen a few owls in the wild, it was an amazing event which I won’t soon forget. When I added the photos that I took that day to my other owl photos, I realized that I have quite a collection for the short time I’ve been taking them. I will include a slide-show below of photos taken in the last year of owls at Thickson’s Woods, Hall’s Rd. and at the Muskoka Wildlife Centre and Midland’s Wye Marsh. A few may be repeats of earlier blog posts but they are some of my favourites.
Jane Walker's Cards 
Congratulations on the sighting and the wonderful photos.
Daniel, I appreciate your comments. Thanks! Jane
Jane I love your Owl photos…. Gorgeous shots !!!!! Congrats & hope all is well . Shirley
Shirley,
Glad you liked them. I find that birds and owls are a lot harder than flowers to photograph so I have to keep practicing.
Jane
Those are wonderful shots! I haven’t seen many owls up here; it’s nice that you have such a variety to shoot. They are wonderful subjects, so majestic!
Loreen, Sometimes there are owls and birds around and we don’t even notice them. I find them so hard to spot but now I find myself scanning trees for hawks and owls whenever I’m out. I try not to do it while driving on the #401. Jane
Excellent owl images!
Mike,
Our Canadian environment does provide many opportunities to see varieties of plants, birds and animals. I had a chance to look at your blog and realized that you are from England. I enjoyed reading about the marsh in your area and seeing some of your photographs. Thanks for responding to mine. Jane
Jane:
I enjoyed seeing the owl photos — you must have eyes “like a hawk” to spot them. Thank you for making me more aware of my surroundings and what surprises in nature we might find. All the best for 2012.
Carole
Carole, My eyes are “in training’for such things!If I hadn’t been looking for photo opportunities, I probably would have missed the long-eared guy/girl?? JANE
These photos are stunning, very beautiful pictures ! I started observing birds 20 years ago but this particular group, the owls, are so difficult to observe, I don’t have many on my list.
I love your blog, you have beautiful pictures.
Jocelyn,
I agree that owls and hawks are very illusive. When I finally see one of them, I often don’t take enough time to compose my shot because I’m afraid that they’ll fly away! Also, the owls are often deep in the forest where the lighting isn’t great so this hobby certainly has its challenges. Thanks for your positive comments. I look forward to checking out your Blog. Jane
I really like your images. 🙂
Mike,
Thought I responded to your comment. Thanks for your interest.
Jane
Great Owl shots.
Bob,
Glad you liked them. Enjoy your photo time.
Jane