Tigger, Roo and mom

[jude01]

Tigger 1 by Selena Rhodes Scofield, on Flickr

Roo 1 by Selena Rhodes Scofield, on Flickr

mom 1 by Selena Rhodes Scofield, on Flickr

[Rdbender]

Very nice

[Iguanasan]

Your owl shots are awesome. Well done! Mom is my favourite here.

[Marko]

very cool jude!
do their ears go up or move around (like cats/dogs) to suggest different states of mind?

[jude01]

The tufts are not their ears, hear is some info I found ". By erecting these tufts of feathers, a more distinct outline suddenly becomes visible. This may allow pairs of birds (or families with young) to silently keep track of each other's presence, communicating by erecting and lowering these feathers. These tufts may also serve as signals to potential enemies by making the owl suddenly seem larger and more of a threat when the feathers become fully erect atop the head.

In addition to communication, "ear" tufts play a very different role in assisting the owl, a role which is opposite of communicating. They assist in camouflaging the bird. Erecting the feathers as a way to communicate is done while the bird is in the open, on a perch where it can be easily seen. While sleeping or trying to avoid being seen, many owls (especially Screech-Owls) close the eyes tightly and erect the feathers over the brow and top of the face in such a way as to form a "V". Erecting the ear tufts fully extends this V above the head and breaks up the visible contour of the face. In these cases, the owl is usually perched on a branch and is pressed up against the tree trunk, or more frequently, perched in a tree hole. The pattern of coloration in the feathers, combined with the concealment posture, makes it nearly impossible to distinguish the owl from the bark of the tree trunk."
The father owl, is very elusive and the two times I've seen him, the tuffs have been strait up. He always fly's off and never lets you get near. The mother has let me get fairly close, she doesn't give a hoot!

[Mad Aussie]

That last shot really makes it look like the proverbial wise old owl!

[Barefoot]

Fabulous!