From Donna Feledichuk
This image is only possible because I was using a 400mm f2.8 lens and due to countless hours of practice in photographing great gray owls. To get all the detail and not have blur in the wings shooting at lower shutter speeds at dusk is from tons of practice in the field. Opportunities for backlighting on great gray owls are not frequent. The weather needs to cooperate not always the case in the north and the owl needs to be in the right position. This image is about technical skill, fieldcraft and knowledge coming together in a single frame.
You are correct. Owls, like all birds, are offshoots of the therapod dinosaurs. The owls had enough with the pesky dinos and thus nuked them from orbit.
Not quite sure about the owls on planes, but the owls on ships is pretty easy to explain. Wherever people are, there’s stored food, and therefor rodents. Where there’s rodents, there be owls. Which is why we get owls even in mega cites today with no trees. The food is around, they just need to be a bit more creative with shelter.
There are about 250 species of owl around today. That’s a busy map to have them all, but your closest and easiest to navigate option overall is probably going to be Owls of the World. It’s got them all listed, so you just click one and get a map and a good amount of data. Other sources that are useful if you have a specific bird in mind are:
eBird
AllAboutBirds
Audobon
Good old Wikipedia has most info and maps also.
All sources seem to all steal data from each other and likely the original source for at least 3/4 of what you’ll find anywhere is from one of the Cornell Lab bird sites like eBird and AllAboutBirds. Cornell Labs has a tooooon of bird related info and tools.
It’s like wingspan in real life.
Owlful resources each and everyone. The range map on ebird is perfect! Thank you.
Hah, it is!
Yes, even though the data is similar, the presentation is all different between those sites, so I thought you’d find one you liked best.