Barn Owl Portrait "Oddey" - 17 years old!

Barn Owl Portrait "Oddey" - 17 years old!

barn owl named "Oddey" - he is 17 years old. He belonged to the lady who runs the OWL wildlife rehab center near us, -- and he lived in her house before she started the center. He loves to be spoken to, - and when his owner comes to the center, he knows, - he hears her and he acts up until she speaks to him :) He is very beautiful.

Each spot on his feathers is like a fingerprint to each barn owl.

They think Oddey's mother may have ingested a rodent that had eaten foxglove plant, which contains digitalis, which in turn affected the eggs the mother barn owl laid, causing Oddey's problems. If the mother owl eats something like that within 36 hours of laying her eggs, problems can arise for the chicks.

Created by: Alandrapal.

Tools Used: 20D, 24-105L handheld

Created on: 29 April 2007

Image Views: 168

Average Views per Day: 0.2

Image Number: 37398

Comments:

Alandrapal from Canada on Apr 1, 2008 at 3:12 AM said:

Hi Anne, thanks very much for the nice comments, and also Nancy's comments from nearly a year ago! As you can see, I haven't viewed this photo of Oddey for ages, so it was nice to see it again : )

Alovely from Maine, U.S.A. on Mar 31, 2008 at 12:35 PM said:

This is such a wonderful photograph of Oddey. Very clearly captured

and so fun to view.

Nancy from New York on May 10, 2007 at 8:39 PM said:

Great picture of Odley,liked his profile! Love Nancy

Alandra from westcoast Canada on May 1, 2007 at 3:34 AM said:

thanks a lot, Mike, knew we could count on you for the right info about this. So interesting! Lucky you to be able to hold these birds.

GRUMPY from MBORO on May 1, 2007 at 3:30 AM said:

MIKE TO THE RESCUE as i have 2 now and able tohold both to a point the frill is rough yet soft their whole body is really soft but when you press down hard on wings then yes they are hard ..hopefully i will be posting a picture of my new owl soon hope this helps

Alandra from westcoast Canada on May 1, 2007 at 12:49 AM said:

forgot your question, Lorraine :) Am not sure about the frill, whether it's coarse or soft, Mike will know. I was planning to call the OWL rescue place to ask a few questions, so will ask that. I assumed it would be soft, just looking at it, but now you ask, it makes me wonder, maybe those frill feathers might be a bit stiffer. I will get back about this.

Alandra from westcoast Canada on May 1, 2007 at 12:47 AM said:

Hi Lorraine, no we weren't allowed to touch the birds, we were warned to stay behind the yellow plastic tape near the bald eagle, as they told us he could reach as far as the tape. Not that he would hurt us, but accidentally something might go wrong. I mean, these are big birds (eagles), their wingspan is huge, 6 feet wide at least, am sure. I caught some of the eagle with his wings spread out, but they wouldn't fit into in the frame of the photo, - it was hard to tell when he was going to do that, so I was too close :) But when I post those, it'll give you an idea what the wings look like, closeup.

lorraine from NZ on Apr 30, 2007 at 11:21 PM said:

You can get up colse to these birds,are you able to touch them is is that just there handlers, is the frill course, you just sometime wonder of they feel like one would imagine? I do love this image.

Alandra from westcoast Canada on Apr 30, 2007 at 10:32 PM said:

thankyou May for the nice comments. will try to find your private email add.

May from Bayou George, FL on Apr 30, 2007 at 8:54 PM said:

Beautiful portrait. They are my favorite owl. Is your friend a rehabilitator? Email me privately, please.

Alandra from westcoast Canada on Apr 30, 2007 at 7:59 PM said:

thanks again, Lorraine. Am also happy with this one, -- it was great being able to get up close and see how that "frill" around the barn owl's faces is formed. Had always wondered what it was like up close :) - so wanted to share the closeup with others who might be interested.

lorraine from NZ on Apr 30, 2007 at 4:40 PM said:

He is just lovely, I love this image, ex capture.

Alandra from westcoast Canada on Apr 30, 2007 at 4:06 PM said:

Hi Mike and Janice, thanks for the nice comments, - was thinking of you yesterday, Mike, knowing you have these also. Am glad for Jazzy that she now has an owl pal. Same as you, Janice, - didn't realize they'd live so long. Guess in the wild, they don't live that long tho'.

grumpy from mboro on Apr 30, 2007 at 3:02 PM said:

alandra what can i say ? i have a soft spot for these as i have just required another one thats about ten years old so now jazzy got a friend lovely bird

sparkle1103 from Illinois on Apr 30, 2007 at 2:47 PM said:

Really nice shot of Oddie the owl. I never knew birds live that long.

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