In June 2015, we were told Great Horned owls were raising there young near a house in Pajarito Acres in White Rock. I had seen plenty of Great Horned owls but was happy to taken another look taking Gowri and Aditya. To our surprise it was a family of the much rare and gorgeous Long-eared Owls that are smaller and more colorful than Great Horned owls! We got great looks of the four owlets, one of which is pictured above. Here is a high resolution shot: (Hi-Res). I had just purchased a Sigma 150 mm - 600 mm lens and it was perfect for this encouter since sometime the owls were close and sometimes far away it allowed me to frame shots without changing lenses over and over again. The owls were amazingly approachable and did not mind us looking at them. Six year old Aditya behaved great and spotted many of the owls who were often well camoflaged. The owlets were happy to perch low and out in the open (Lo-Res)   (Hi-Res). The owners of the house said the male was always nearby but the female only visited once or twice a day. The male often would be in the middle of a pine tree making it difficult to photograph him. However, I returned the next day and got a good look. Long-eared are know for staying near the trunk of the tree to blend in. Here is a great example of the male perched right near a tree trunk blending in great: (Lo-Res)   (Hi-Res). I did manage to get him at another angle where he wasn't right up against the tree trunk: (Lo-Res)   (Hi-Res).

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