Owl season...

...it seems to be owl season, as I got two owls in different locations.

I have done a previous post of the owl in the first 5 shots below, but these are all new shots of it as we decided to go and have a look if they are going to accept the owl box that the owner of the premises built for them. And today I got lucky as we arrived to see the owl sitting on the platform of the box.

It is a Spotted Eagle Owl (Bubo Africanus), and the reason why I am so delighted is that we now have a pair of owls close to our home, in fact they are just down the road from us, and our hopes are that they will start breeding in that smart box. I can already see their babies in my imagination, and who knows if it will take place.

I told you that she was sitting on the verandah of the box.

Scratching an itchy ear.

And folding the foot back under its wings.

She was certainly enjoying the warm sun.

Now for the other owl.

Kindly inspect the trees and tell me if you can see the owl.

No? Well, there it was and it is the same specie as the owl in the pictures above, just at a different location about 5 kilometers away.

This one was a bit smaller than the one in the top picture.

After a lengthy period I got the owl to look down at me.

And yeah, there is that icy, yellow-eyed stare, so as if to say, don't you dare to come closer. Lol.

Our winter solstice took place yesterday the 21st day of June and the 21st was two days after my 9-year Hive birthday which was on Friday the 19th of June. Amazing, as all things just seem to fall in place lately. The winter solstice is here in our southern hemisphere the shortest day, and in the northern hemisphere on the same day is their longest day. Strange but true.

There is another owl specie that looks similar to the Spotted Eagle Owl. It is called the Cape Eagle Owl (Bubo capensis). They are bigger than the Spotted Eagle Owl and they also have different colours. Their feet are much larger, and they have orange (not yellow) eyes. They also have a different call, as its sharper than the Spotted Eagle Owls. We have 6 different species of owls here, and I can only hope to get the others on camera.
Such is life.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.

Photos by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.

Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.

Until next time, cheers!