Photo by Harold Wilion

You Just Keep Me Hanging On

After already falling to the ground once and making his way back up into a tree, this little barred owl executes a slip and fall, and as he was fluttering to the ground, was able to catch himself on a thin branch. At first, since he knew he was being photographed, I thought it was just a ploy to initiate a lawsuit against the tree and would hire that attorney that’s always advertising on TV. He struggled a bit and was not able to right himself, but he let go and fluttered to a lower branch where he caught himself. That’s how they learn, and by the next day was capable of making short flights with fewer mistakes. It’s so much fun to watch all young animals develop and one of my favorite aspects of photography, because I know without a camera, I doubt I would be spending the hours I do watching nature’s wonders like this.