Great Horned Owl Flying in the Moonlight

by Judi Dressler

Title

Great Horned Owl Flying in the Moonlight

Artist

Judi Dressler

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Photograph - Photography

Description

A Great Horned Owl flies in front of the full moon in the dark of night. It could be Halloween, or it might be any night of the year, when a nocturnal owl such as the Great Horned is out hunting. They fly silently and surprise their prey by using their excellent hearing.

This image is a composite of the moon and the owl, both are my photos.

Great horned Owls (sometimes known by nicknames such as "tiger owl") are large owls native to the Americas, where their deep hoots may be heard across distances, especially in the winter when they begin thinking about nesting. This owl is an extremely adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas. Great horned Owls typically nest in large trees but will also nest along bridges and other buildings, or even on the ground. They usually adopt a nest that was built by another species, but they also use cavities in live trees, dead snags, deserted buildings, cliff ledges, and human-made platforms. Pairs may roost together near the future nest site for several months before laying eggs. Aggressive and powerful in their hunting, they will take prey as varied as rabbits, hawks, snakes, and even skunks, and will even attack porcupines, often with fatal results for both prey and predator.

Photo of the owl taken on September 28, 2016, in Louisville, Colorado.

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Won 1st Place in FAA's OWLS AT HALOWEEN contest, on November 2, 2021.

Tied for 1st Place in FAA's BLACK BACKGROUNDS contest, on March 6, 2022

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Descriptive tags and keywords for this image include great horned owl, great horned owls, flying owl, owls, moon, full moon, night, dark, darkness, halloween, spooky, horned owl, flying, in flight, hunting, bubo virginianus, bubo, raptor, raptors, predator, birds, wild, wildlife, bird of prey, colorado, gho, wildlife, avian, wild, nature, judi dressler, and dressler.

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September 28th, 2021

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