Year Three of My 365 Photo Project

May has been a very busy month with lots of photography options.  My first opportunity came with a work adventure.

One of the Osprey parents circling overhead (photo:  Cathy Spahn)

 World Bird Sanctuary works with many organizations when it comes to bird issues.  In this case it came with an Osprey that had nested on a crane over 180 feet in the air.  The organization wanted to help the birds, yet the crane was needed.  So, several of us went on an adventure to rescue the eggs.  I stayed on the ground taking photos, since I have a very large fear of heights.

An unhappy Osprey parent (photo: Cathy Spahn)

Walter and Adam adventured up in a lift to the nest to rescue the eggs.  While taking photos of what was going on I took a few nice photos of the Osprey parents as they hovered overhead.   The eggs were taken to World Bird Sanctuary to be put in the incubator.  If the eggs hatch we will then raise the young for release back into the wild.

The next photo opportunity came at World Bird Sanctuary’s Annual Spring Camera Day.  I usually work the event, so I do not have a ton of time to take photos, but I can usually take a few.  There are two photos that came out of this day that I really like.  The first is Rustle, the Nine-banded Armadillo.

Rustle the Nine-banded Armadillo (photo: Cathy Spahn)

This year I decided to try something different and went for Rustle.  Rustle is a very challenging subject to photograph because he does not sit still.  We put Rustle on table with logs, leaves, flowers, and rocks.  He went to town plowing it all over and knocking about 80% on to the ground.  Then he discovered a small colony of ants that came out of the log and he got a nice big snack!  He had a good time and will be a guest again at camera day, but possibly in a different set up.

Oliver (above) & Timber (in box) demonstrating the two Screech Owl color phases (photo: Cathy Spahn)

The next Camera Day photo opportunity came at the end of the day.  I really wanted to try getting a few photos of our two Eastern Screech Owls Timber and Oliver in the same photo.  First the trick to this photo was to keep the birds separated so they could not get to each other.  The first set up involved a large log and one screech owl up high and one down low.  That was a good idea, but the photo was still very distant.  Then I remembered that we have a screech owl box set up.  We put Timber inside the box, since he does not mind the box.  Then we put Oliver on top, since he was not sure of the box earlier in the day.  They both sat perfectly!  This was my favorite of the two birds and a nice way to show the two different color phases.

Jim, the farmer, and me with two of the babies (photo: Jeff Meshach)

The last work adventure that resulted in many photos was a sudden trip.  One day I was leaving to head out bird watching when Jeff Meshach, WBS director, pulled up and asked if I would like to go with him to place Barn Owls for release.  Away we went heading south to a farm with 6 Barn Owls to be hacked into the wild. 

The Barn Owl fledglings adjusting to their new environment (photo: Cathy Spahn)

Hacking is the process of putting young birds into an artificial nest, or in this case a barn.  The nest is closed for a period of time (so the babies can’t leave) and humans provide food.  Then the doors are opened.  As the babies fly to and from the artificial nest, humans provide food for anywhere from a few days to a week.  This supplements food they may catch as they develop their flight skills.  The young are then off and on their own.  This method has been used for a long time and has helped to bring many endangered species back from the brink of extinction, such as the Peregrine Falcon.  This photo was taken by Jeff of Jim the farmer and me with two of the owls ready to go.

So these are just a few of my photos for the month.  Sometimes the photo opportunities are planned and other times they just happen.  I have had people say they want to come with me to take photos.  I can fully admit sometimes it really is just dumb luck on what comes about.  What makes the big difference is just getting out and taking photos--not just sitting at home waiting for something to happen.

Submitted by Cathy Spahn, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist

Acorn

Sadly, I must inform the followers of our blog that Acorn, our beloved eighteen-year-old red phase Eastern Screech Owl, passed away suddenly last week.

In the morning his caretakers noticed that he couldn’t stand and was breathing heavily.  After a few minutes he seemed to recover, but could not use his right leg very well.  He was immediately taken to our vet who found a large mass in his abdomen.  He had hardly any use of his right leg and had gone blind in one eye—we suspect from a blood clot.  As we considered the possibility of treatment he became so weak he could no longer stand.  In taking into consideration his quality of life we made the difficult decision to euthanize him.  Because of the “TLC” we gave him during his life, Acorn lived 6 times longer than a wild Screech Owl’s life span, which is about 3 years.

Acorn was one of our most popular birds—never failing to elicit a chorus of “Aaaaws!” when he would come onstage.  In addition to educating our audiences, he has helped to “train” hundreds of new staff, interns and volunteers, as he was one of the first birds these newbies would learn to handle.  His passing will leave a void in many lives here at WBS.

Acorn has educated millions of audience members in his eighteen year career with WBS and will be sorely missed by staff, volunteers and the thousands of visitors and audience members who looked forward to seeing him each year.

Submitted by Gay Schroer, World Bird Sanctuary Volunteer

Wild Screech Owl

This month I have chosen just one topic—a series of photos of a wild Eastern Screech Owl found near World Bird Sanctuary.

 Even for those of us who work with raptors every day, a wild Screech Owl sighting is an exciting event (Photo by Cathy Spahn)

At about 5:30 pm on February 20, as I was enjoying a leisurely day off there came an insistant knocking on my door.  When I opened it there stood Catherine, one of my co-workers and my next-door neighbor.  She was obviously very excited, and very quickly said, “…shirt, shoes, Screech Owl!”   I hurriedly put on my shoes, threw on a sweater, and then grabbed my binoculars and camera. 

 It was a beautiful red phase Eastern Screech Owl (Photo by Cathy Spahn)

We ran up the hill at WBS to Catherine’s car--not an easy challenge.  We quickly hopped in the car and went to find Jeff, who had originally spotted the owl along the edge of a road and was parked near the owl.  As we arrived, up from the ground flew a very dark, red phase Eastern Screech Owl.  As we watched the bird I started taking lots of photos.

 Thank goodness for the miracle of zoom lenses (Photo by Cathy Spahn)

After a while Jeff left, we pulled up where Jeff’s truck was because he was closer to the owl, and I was able to take more photos of this very cute/beautiful bird from a different angle.  In most cases a car seems to make a perfect “blind” for photographing wildlife.  If we had attempted to leave the automobile and approach the bird on foot he would surely have flown away.  After watching and photographing him from our car for a little while we decided to leave the bird alone and we went down the road to turn around.

 By the time we got turned around the owl had flown further back into the woods (Photo by Cathy Spahn)

On the way back we started looking for the little owl.  This was a challenge since the he/she had flown further into the woods.  However, when we did eventually spot the owl it was looking at something on the ground—possibly its next meal.  That was when we decided to move on and leave the owl alone to hunt. 

Even though we both work with birds of prey on a daily basis, spotting one in the wild is always an exciting event.  This was a life/first bird for Catherine, and was the first one I have seen in the wild in a few years.

Submitted by Cathy Spahn, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist