Southern Boobooks

Yesterday while out walking through the soft filtered light of  peppermint trees, a flurry of wings flashed by in the corner of my eye. Big and quiet ... an owl, it had to be an owl. I  snapped to attention. Still as a mouse I scanned the nearby trees. Another dark shadow flitted just in front of me.  It was a  young boobook owl, dark chocolaty in colour, seeking the greater security of a further and higher peppermint branch. Then I saw a paler adult sitting still on a branch eyeballing me and Miske, and nearby, yet another dark youngster, blending in with the shadows.

Although his first image has twigs in front of the owl it does show the powerful feet quite well.

Adult Southern Boobook

Only a couple of nights ago I had heard boobooks calling in the middle of the night. This is the first time I have actually seen them down here. I took a chance and walked quietly back home, grabbed my camera, and walked back again. Quietly I scanned the peppies once again, and at first I found the one adult. Presumably the first flurry of wings was the other adult who took off further, out of sight - I was unable to locate it anyway. Scanning further afield I finally saw the youngsters, sitting together high in a peppy tree. Yep, they were still there, but extremely well camouflaged deep within the dappled foliage. As we walked along the adult owl eyeballed me, then its head slowly turned  following Miske as she sniffed her way along the path.

The youngsters -
Southern boobooks - giving us the beady eye

I took my photos of them as they obligingly sat still, only their heads tilting as they watched us, or swivelling around as they observed the sights and sounds around them. Remembering something I had read some years ago, about a wildlife photographer using a flash when photographing polar bears that were a huge distance away. When asked why, he replied, to get the lights in their eyes. The bears were too far away to be dangerous. Anyway, I thought I would try this, as the baby owls were deep in shade. Well, they have wonderfully wide irises and reflective retinas, with a plentiful blood supply! I have put in a flash shot to show you what not to do.

Southern boobooks nest in hollows, from August to December, raising a clutch of two or three young. They are able to leave the nest at about five weeks of age. So this family are right on target with their timing.

Here is another similar same photo but having used the red eye fix! First time I've ever used it.

Update: Out walking today a noisily complaining wattle bird alerted me while beside a peppy tree near yesterday's meeting with the boobooks. Looking up into the tree of complaint I saw three chocolate boobooks. Three babies or two babies and an adult? How fantastic if the adult pair had manged to raise three babies.