Camera Critters: Rare Winter Wildlife Encounters

For today we feature two photographs of winter wildlife.  The first one is of the Great Horned Owl, a species that I seldom see and have not photographed successfully until now.  I was driving a backcountry road on the way to my favorite wildlife observation spot, when I noticed the owl flying from tree to tree.  When he landed in a relatively open spot I took several photographs with the Canon 7D and the 300mm F2.8. with 2x Extender.  The image is cropped severely, and would have been better had I been closer.  I would also have preferred to not have the intervening limbs in the photograph, but from one point of view they may actually add to the photograph, as it tends to illustrate how elusive the species can be and helps create a mysterious, wild atmosphere..

Great Horned Owl

I see  Eastern Wild Turkeys frequently, but seldom have a photo opportunity such as the following.

Mature Eastern Wild Turkey Gobblers

A flock of gobblers was feeding, when a young whitetail deer that is just out of the frame to the left, jumped at the turkeys and momentarily startled one, causing it to leap high into the air.  I have observed this behavior before, and in most cases it is a young deer that gets involved with the turkeys, most likely because they are more curious and playful than the adult animals.  I have even seen deer chase turkeys  around in circles.  Turkeys are not actually afraid of deer and seldom leave the area when this happens.

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Originally posted at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill