photo sharing and upload picture albums photo forums search pictures popular photos photography help login
Hank Vander Velde | all galleries >> Galleries >> Photos 2018 > 20180217-2a 3175 SERIES, part 1 - Northern Hawk Owl.jpg
previous | next
17-FEB-2018 Hank Vander Velde

20180217-2a 3175 SERIES, part 1 - Northern Hawk Owl.jpg

Gatineau

AN OWL WITH A BUILT-IN MICROWAVE OVEN.

Following are eight images showing the owl retrieving lunch (a vole or mouse), then heating it up (unthawing it) before settling down to eat it. Several times through lunch the vole is put back into the oven/microwave for some further thawing out.

Top Image:With some assistance from a pair of crows, we found the owl perched high in a tree. After we watched it for awhile,.............


.....................the owl suddenly dove down and ..............


..........retrieved something from one of its caches typically used to store previously caught food. From my vantage point, I could not identify what it had retrieved. It then flew off towards some woods.


After some searching, we found the owl again perched on a branch. It appeared to be just sitting there fluffed-up against the cold. But.........................


..........it suddenly opened up the oven door to check on lunch, a mouse or vole. Apparently it was not cooked (unthawed) well enough yet as...............


........the owl immediately closed the oven door again and remained perched, all fluffed-up, for considerable time. Then,...............


......it opened up the door again to seemingly test lunch for readiness, much the same way one pokes a fork into a Thanksgiving turkey to see if it is cooked and ready to eat. Apparently it was, or at least some of it was as the owl started to eat. It ate for awhile, but decided the vole wasn't fully ready yet and it was placed back into the oven.


Another period of waiting/cooking/unthawing until finally...........


......lunch was deemed to be ready. From the owl's facial expression, it appeared to be delicious.


Note: The process of thawing out was repeated several times, until finally, with half the mouse consumed, the owl decided to swallow the remaining half whole. It managed to do so with some extreme difficulty. I suspect this last half was still frozen.

See http://www.pbase.com/image/167041641 for part 2 of SERIES.

These Owls and some other northern owls, like the Boreal Owl, typically may have several caches where they store excess food to be retrieved later.

Nikon D7200 ,AF-S NIKKOR 200-500 mm ED
1/1000s f/7.1 at 410.0mm iso280 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
Tom Murray24-Feb-2018 00:20
Great series Hank! Hawk owls are a real treat to see.
Chris Picard22-Feb-2018 18:41
How unusual and terrific. Wish I had been there. Great series Hank.
Patricia Kay22-Feb-2018 16:49
A wonderful series of images Hank...beautiful owl...BV
fotabug22-Feb-2018 06:48
A fantastic set of photos! V
Bryan Murahashi22-Feb-2018 05:54
Very nice photos, Hank.
davidksmith22-Feb-2018 05:04
Hank, wonderful Hawk Owl story board.
Pierre Martin22-Feb-2018 02:36
terrific story and set of pictures!
Jan Luit22-Feb-2018 01:36
Very nice series and information.
francoisconstantin22-Feb-2018 00:38
Lovely series for this beautiful bird!!!!
Great pictures Hank!!
Tom Munson22-Feb-2018 00:25
Terrific commentary and great captures, Hank. Well done.
Missed Opportunities22-Feb-2018 00:22
An impressive series - - especially like the 4th and 8th images - well captured
Céline Leclerc22-Feb-2018 00:07
Intéressante cette série, chanceux d’avoir eu l’occasion de faire cette observation et de la photographier!
globalgadabout21-Feb-2018 22:08
warm meals are the best ones...fascinating process, delightful story telling, and fine quality images....bravo Hank...V
Claude Gagnon21-Feb-2018 21:15
WOW, what a fantastic series!!! Hank, it's awesome :)) VVV
joseantonio21-Feb-2018 20:38
such a spectacular series.
Tom LeRoy21-Feb-2018 18:21
Wow, great story and superb images, Hank. Excellent documentary! V
Fong Lam21-Feb-2018 15:52
Well done on this outstanding series with excellent details, Hank....V
Jim Stephens21-Feb-2018 15:52
Outstanding documentation, Hank! Very impressive observations and captures!
Jim Coffman21-Feb-2018 15:16
What an amazing series, Hank! Very well done...
Type your message and click Add Comment
It is best to login or register first but you may post as a guest.
Enter an optional name and contact email address. Name
Name Email
help private comment