Monday, June 15, 2009

Northern Saw-whet Owlets

On Saturday I traveled with my pal Marten to the Nisbet Forest where I then had the pleasure of meeting bird bander Harold Fisher and his wonderful family.
Out of thirty-something Saw-whet Owl boxes put up in various spots throughout the woods , three were successful and had young inside that were in pretty good shape.
Afterwards, Marten and I found a Northern Hawk Owl, a couple of Common Nighthawk , a vocal American Bittern, Cliff Swallows , Turkey Vulture, Mourning Warbler, Veery, Hermit Thrush and some other more commonly seen species.
A new year bird was a lone Chestnut-sided Warbler, which was a nice bonus.
Also new for 2009 was a female Black-backed Woodpecker.

Here are some of the young Saw-whet Owls :



17 comments:

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

These little guys are adorable.
Blessings,Ruth

JPT said...

Oh my word - I don't normally do cute - but!

FAB said...

Very cute Nick. Who were the little ones staring at in the 1st pic, obviously not you?

Nick S said...

Thankyou Frank.
The little guys were constantly on the lookout.
A Red-tailed Hawk was in the area calling almost non-stop, as we were fairly close to her nest.

holdingmoments said...

Cute written all over them!
They're beauties Nick.

Kelly said...

Oh my goodness!!! Those little owlets are beyond adorable. I'm glad you were able to find them and photograph them. It must have been thrilling to watch them...

Mike said...

Stunning as always Nick, some birds you get to see over there, nice one.

Chris said...

Wow Nick, these are really funny and cute birds!!! How gorgeous this should have been to see them. I love the last shot, it is just perfect, but still so hilarious because of the funny shape of this bird. I had never seen them, so thanks for sharing.

Shelley said...

This is CUTENESS OVERLOAD Nick! Seriously - I can't take it - too cute!!! Loved how they were all looking up - obviously something caught their eye.

Nick S said...

Thanks guys. The whole experience was a treat.

John Theberge said...

Wow, what a wonderful oppurtunity to capture some owl chicks, lucky you.

Peggy said...

If only I hang with you Nick! Wow! I can't imagine that experience, I would have been so excited! Amazing! Adorable! Too cute for words!

Owlman said...

Off the charts as far as cute goes!

Unseen India Tours said...

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Tina said...

Unbelievable pictures!! How cute are these guys! Neat job Nick!

Sheila said...

Oh, so sweet! Awesome photos as always.
Coincidentally I was just reading about Northern Saw-whet owls today in the book by Richard Cannings, An Enchantment of Birds - very interesting.

AMIT said...

Wow very good owl photo taken.Appreciate your work.

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