{"id":10500,"date":"2025-06-20T11:55:18","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T19:55:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rknibbe.com\/Wordpress\/?p=10500"},"modified":"2025-06-20T14:58:36","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T22:58:36","slug":"hoo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rknibbe.com\/Wordpress\/archives\/10500","title":{"rendered":"Hoo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure data-wp-context=\"{&quot;imageId&quot;:&quot;6a05f9a8ed8c5&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" data-wp-key=\"6a05f9a8ed8c5\" class=\"wp-block-image alignleft size-large wp-lightbox-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rknibbe.com\/Wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Great-Horned-Owl-On-Perch-500x281.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10499\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rknibbe.com\/Wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Great-Horned-Owl-On-Perch-500x281.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.rknibbe.com\/Wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Great-Horned-Owl-On-Perch-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rknibbe.com\/Wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Great-Horned-Owl-On-Perch-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rknibbe.com\/Wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Great-Horned-Owl-On-Perch-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.rknibbe.com\/Wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Great-Horned-Owl-On-Perch-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><button\n\t\t\tclass=\"lightbox-trigger\"\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\taria-haspopup=\"dialog\"\n\t\t\taria-label=\"Enlarge\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--right=\"state.imageButtonRight\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--top=\"state.imageButtonTop\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Hoo Are You<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A leisurely neighborhood walk with The Dog the other day. We rounded a corner near the top of the bluff to take the trail we always take that winds down to the sea. Then suddenly, what&#8217;s this? We heard a number of crows &#8211; not enough to make a murder, though maybe an attempted murder &#8211; going off in the trees. This was more than a lover&#8217;s quarrel, for sure, these crows were pissed off. We stepped beneath the branches to get a closer look, saw a few of the crows, but we couldn&#8217;t see what had gotten their dander up. Turns out there must&#8217;ve been five or six of them, all pointed and cawing at the same object. But what? So we continued on, toward the trailhead, to get a better look from a different perspective. Ah ha! there she was, perched, undaunted by all the racket, and appearing calmly supercilious. I figured it was a girl because the girls are bigger than the boys, about 1.5-2X bigger. I had my camera with me, with the Tamron 28-200 lens attached. A &#8220;budget&#8221; lens, as experts refer to it, but when a patient Great Horned Owl is your subject, pretty good glass, I must say. And in less than ideal light at that. Followed by a little post-processing on the computer, and voila! Click (or tap) to embiggen, maybe you&#8217;ll agree.<br><br>And then I waited. How long would it be before she tired of my presence, and the crows, who hadn&#8217;t stopped their cawing the whole time I was there. Not long it turned out. Happy with my captures, I started my retreat from the forest floor back to the trail to rejoin HW and The Dog, when, after a few anxious head bobs, she suddenly lifted off her perch. I hadn&#8217;t switched off the camera, in fact it was still on and in auto-focus mode, and set to a suitably fast shutter speed (1\/800). I pointed, pressed and held the AF button, then pressed the shutter. It all happened in 2-3 seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure data-wp-context=\"{&quot;imageId&quot;:&quot;6a05f9a8f1209&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" data-wp-key=\"6a05f9a8f1209\" class=\"wp-block-image alignleft size-large wp-lightbox-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rknibbe.com\/Wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Great-Horned-Owl-Leaves-Perch-500x375.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10505\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rknibbe.com\/Wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Great-Horned-Owl-Leaves-Perch-500x375.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.rknibbe.com\/Wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Great-Horned-Owl-Leaves-Perch-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rknibbe.com\/Wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Great-Horned-Owl-Leaves-Perch-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rknibbe.com\/Wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Great-Horned-Owl-Leaves-Perch-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.rknibbe.com\/Wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Great-Horned-Owl-Leaves-Perch-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><button\n\t\t\tclass=\"lightbox-trigger\"\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\taria-haspopup=\"dialog\"\n\t\t\taria-label=\"Enlarge\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--right=\"state.imageButtonRight\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--top=\"state.imageButtonTop\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>See ya<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Bam!<br><br>Just magnificent predators. <br><br>Minutes later, we were about halfway down the trail when when way off in the distance I spotted her silhouette, she was perched on a branch in a different tree, backlit by sunlight filtering through leaves, already drawing the attention of a new murder of crows. And, from what I could tell at that distance, still appearing unbothered by them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A leisurely neighborhood walk with The Dog the other day. We rounded a corner near the top of the bluff to take the trail we always take that winds down to the sea. Then suddenly, what&#8217;s this? We heard a number of crows &#8211; not enough to make a murder, though maybe an attempted murder [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wikipediapreview_detectlinks":true,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rknibbe.com\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rknibbe.com\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rknibbe.com\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rknibbe.com\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rknibbe.com\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10500"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.rknibbe.com\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10500\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10514,"href":"https:\/\/www.rknibbe.com\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10500\/revisions\/10514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rknibbe.com\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rknibbe.com\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rknibbe.com\/Wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}