Beautiful

Wow, what great shots. I love owls. She does look pitiful.

Beautiful photos, Nicole! Thanks for sharing.

Love both of the photos but the one where you caught the owl and the hummer is stunning!

Wow! Beautiful pics!

Beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing.

Beautiful photos!

Great photos-- love them!

Nice shot,

@sealavender...She's hunting. It's baby bunny season. I took the photo about 5pm, when they normally would wake up.

Love hearing owls hoot at night! Miss it since we've moved into town.

Wonderful photos!

Those photos are gorgeous!

Both photos are magazine worthy.

I enjoy owls, I haven't seen or heard one at my place for several years. :(

TerrifTerrific shots!

Fantastic photos and captures, nicole. If you have any more unpublished, you should seriously consider entering them into a photo contest (maybe one with a prize) or selling them. In addition to being fantastic photos, they are of broad interest as they capture the nature of what the summer has been like for so many of us — we just can’t find a place to dry off.

Thanks so much for sharing these.

@petalique....Your correct, a lot of my/my husbands photos are copyrighted and I don't display them here. My DH walked into this Lawyers office to do some remodeling...and they have his photos blown up hanging on their walls, purchased online. He did enter one photo in a local contest, won 1st prize, a gift certificate. (Note: we have the exact same photos since we shoot together)

Can we ask you to share more of your art from time to time?

We used to hear owls -- and have a lot more wildlife. Now the people who claim they want to live away from the city light up their houses and yards. Homes now look like warehouses; neighborhoods like industrial parks.

She is beautiful! Wonderful photos. Love owls. We have had a resident male owl for sometime, have not heard him recently, so I am worried about him. Of course, I will never know where he went but I miss his hooting.

Awesome photos! He or she looks sad.

What a great pic!

Gorgeous. Did you know where to look to find her, or did she stand out, on the side of the tree?

@sjerin...The owls sit in various places. Smaller birds harass the birds of prey. The hummers have their babies out...and are zooming up to the owl regularly.

Isn't it normal that wild animals get wet when it rains?

Oh Elmer - of course it is normal. But, let’s just enjoy nicole’s phenomenal pictures of nature’s wonders she’s sharing with us! The fact that she was able to capture these two moments is pretty great. 😁

@Elmer J Fudd....And isn't she the cutest wet owl you've ever seen?! 💞 How many sitting-in-the-rain owl photos have you seen? She's my first. I just want to give her a hug.

I missed that apparently the purpose of the post was to crow about the photo (sorry for the pun).

I'm numb to avian photos. A close friend is a very active "birder". Very active, like how he spends several days a week and what the purpose is of organized "birding" trips he takes at least once and often twice a year, in the US and to destinations abroad. To enjoy seeing lots of birds and to increase his cumulative species count.

I usually get two emails a month with links to his Google Photos library. His last extravaganza was a 10 day trip to the western plains to see grouse and other birds there. I think he sent links to a few hundred photos from that one. The comment about the bird being wet struck me because as I get photos from my friend throughout the year, there's never a comment about whether the birds are wet or dry.

So yes, I'm numb to bird pictures. I look at each delivery quickly so I can make small talk to comment on what he's done. I've never been a person who has any interest in birds and I pay no attention to them. The biweekly photo deliveries haven't changed that

That shot of the owl on side of tree and the hummingbird is priceless! Amazing picture.

Beautiful photos, Nicole!

Fantastic shots, Nicole! You are lucky to live in an area blessed with wildlife like that. They both are magnificent in their own way.

I love birds too. I feed them and watch them and have gone on a number of trips where the focus is on birds. I have a life list that I keep and apps on my phone. It's something in nature that is easily seen and appreciated. I guess you are either a bird person or not but they bring so much joy and wonder.

Love the look on her face. What a great shot! Do you have your photos displayed around your home?

And of course she's wet, that's what makes it unique and adds to the the appeal of the photo.

We often hear Great Horned owls around here but I've never seen one. At our place in the PA woods we hear them all the time, but still rarely see them. I think in 26 years I've only seen them 5 or 6 times. Her nest is in the woods behind our house and once we caught a glimpse of her with 2 babies on a branch. It took me by surprise and I never even thought to pull out my camera.

DS was up there last month and heard scratching on the deck. He thought it was a turkey but when he finally got up to look he discovered 2 fledglings.

wow.

Birds are so fun to observe - and owls seem so very special - as do hummingbirds 🙂

It can be difficult to capture them in photos too, since they are rarely still.

@marie_cate.....Those babies are gorgeous!

yes. I've framed a few photos for the house. Here's the latest one:

It's a mama burrowing owl. She had 2 babies. The printer sent me extra copies. They've made great gifts. 💞

" It can be difficult to capture them in photos too, since they are rarely still. "

It's like most things, it's something that needs to be learned and practiced. The kind of equipment and the money spent by my friend to get it no doubt provide tools that allow him flexibility. And make the photo ops more numerous and easier to do with his trained eyes and hands. He's taken a number of photo classes over the years.

Taking good photos of anything is rarely possible as a casual endeavor by someone using a phone camera who's not experienced with photography.

Maire, love those babies!

One time there was adead deer on my mothet’s property. It has been hit by a car. I was astounded at how fast the raptors found it and cleaned it up. That was the only time i saw an owl in flight. its was huge! Fortunately the township came and took away the remaining carcass. Yuck.

Lucky you Nicole, we don't have burrowing owls here in the east but they are the cutest little creatures.

Ded - what happened to the baby owl in your son's yard? Could it fly? And look at the size of those feet!

When I first moved to this house, there were big trees in all the yards. I knew there was owl activity in the yard behind me but didn't get to see them. One night as I got the dogs out for their last pit stop of the night, I was standing on the driveway and a big owl flew right over my head. Silent and scary but very exciting to experience! I have never been that close to one. We have great horned owls here.

Wow beautiful photos! Her eyes look partly closed. I wonder if it's for the rain or if she's resting or maybe because there's still light out? I don't know much about owls. Hummingbird seems brave. I imagine it could be a meal for the owl.

I wish we had owls here, but I don't think we do. At least not in the suburbs/city. We do have some kind of raptors (hawks I think, but I'm no expert) that I really enjoy seeing when I'm out running.

Ya know....where's she's sitting is just over from the iris bed...where my cat has been hunting a little mouse. He sits there for hours.....but....haven't seen Aspen hunting the mouse lately...? hhhhhmmmmmm......

martinca...sitting around talking about owls.....not likely to go to anyones head.

Love the shots! I thought I said that, but apparently, I only thought it. I would be happy to see more of your pictures. I still remember your hummingbird photos vividly, even though that was years ago.

I guess Annie should stop posting her linus projects, and Rose her sewing projects and... we're friends here and we share all the highs and lows of life. That's what we do. If one doesn't care for it, scroll on by.

Maire cate.not good news about the baby owl. Son took it to a bird rescue where he lives in CA and they said it was either ill or injured and would not live. Very sad.

I love the pictures, I keep meaning to respond but get distracted. I've enjoyed all the nature photos you've shared through the years.

In case anyone misreads my subtle reply on compliments: I love the photo. Very frame worthy..

I have also failed to add my what a wonderful couple of pictures.

We have Barred owls around here and they will eat cats. Sad, but do keep the bunnies in check. I once saw a tiny mini owl in an apple tree near here. Never did figure out exactly what it was. None of my bird books had a match but then again that is bird books. I haven't heard any owls in a while.

the only thing I have against birders is they all too often will use made up phrases to help ID bird songs and you end up stuck with an ear worm like "drink more beer" instead of getting to enjoy the actual bird song.

@Patriciae...I know what your saying. :0) My husband said "There's THAT suicide bird again!" Me, "What?" "The bird, It keeps saying kitty, kitty, kitty" 😂 It's the song a Nut Hatch sings.

@dedtired...I'm not sure I believe the rehabbers. Owl fledglings are on the ground ALL the time here. They have an OWL rehab facility in Denver....there are so many. They teach them to hunt and release them. I wonder if they tell people "that" so they don't try to follow up on the owls and bother the rehabbers for information on "their" owl....? Just saying....

There was a family of Great Horned Owls that built their nest in a pine tree in front of a busy Walgreens. A news channel did a story on them and literally hundreds of people drove over to see them. We went several times with friends/photographers. It was a mob scene. The Walgreens ran out of food and drinks....good for them. :0) When the fledglings dropped to the ground, the rehabbers captured them in nets...hauled them off... Link to old story

The babies in front of Walgreens....I took photos too...

I occasionally hear an owl but never have seen it in my neighborhood. We're going broke feeding the birds seed and suet. We have a suet hanging on the magnolia tree which the squirrels loved so we bought a caged suet holder and I hung it on a metal tripod. It's a feat but the squirrels found that too and hang on with their toes and eat upside down. Yesterday I heard screaming blue jays and just ignored them thinking they were annoyed at the catbirds in the feeder. Nope, when I went out an enormous hawk was sitting low on a birdbath. He was huge. A few months ago my resident white squirrel built a nest right outside my sunroom. Later she brought two little babies down...one her white twin and the other grey. Sadly I think she was hit by a car but the baby and sibling are still here.

I have a love/ hate relationship with owls. I follow cams in the Chesapeake and Hog Island Maine and for years the damn owls have killed all the baby osprey chicks. This last episode was killing for fun not food as the the sweet little fluffy birds were just slaughtered and left there.

so beautiful Nicole!