I thought you were gone fishin.

Rockin' pictures, Tex! You sure can shoot.

Eric, welcome back. Have missed your posts.

But, you have come back in high (high-flying?) style! Great pictures!

I first became acquainted with burrowing owls on the parade grounds of Historic Fort Stockton ... the cannons were a favorite perch of theirs.

Thanks for sharing!

I really like the middle one and the look that you are being given hehe!

Glad you guys are enjoying the photos. I didn't know what I had captured until I got home and downloaded them. The owl in flight, in particular, caught me by surprise.

Rachel, I think that's the male of the pair. He seemed to be the most agitated by my inquisitiveness; he's also the one caught in flight. They do have penetrating gazes, don't they?

Sweet pics! I like the middle one. Have always wondered if owls really can turn their heads all the way back..

Awesome, Eric. I saw a roadrunner during my after-work ride, but of course I didn't have a camera along (and probably would have crashed trying to use it while riding anyway).

Ern, the owl's 180° (at least) range of motion for its head is one of the amazing truths of the animal kingdom.

Linda Blair still has it beat, though. ;-)

Foo, road runners are pretty hard to catch on camera. I'm not sure I've ever gotten a good photo of one. I've even tried painting a tunnel on a brick wall; they go right through it before I can get my camera focused!

Nice picture. Those dove are everywhere :>]

I had my camera in the car when I had to drive out to Green Tree this afternoon and got a fairly good shot of the range fires North of there....posted soon.

Awesome. I don't think I've ever seen an owl except in a zoo, maybe. Do they put owls in zoos?

Glad you're back :)

Absolutely beautiful shots. Kudos!

Stunning! And having just tried to capture flying aircraft in motion, I know how excited you must have been to see the shot of the owl in flight...beautiful shots!!

And welcome back!

Wallace, I assume you saw the article in the paper this morning about the fire. Bad stuff.

Do they put owls in zoos?

I guess so, although I hope not. They need to be free.

Gwynne, I've tried to take photos at airshows also; they always turn out to be black specks in the sky...if I'm lucky enough to even get a speck!

They need to be free.

This is how I feel about all animals in general - I'm not a zoo person, but Tim drags me every 5 years or thereabouts. I always leave depressed. He tells me I'm a minority in thinking zoos are cruel. Regardless, if I've seen an owl, that would be where.

Cool pics. You need to show those to a mutual acquaintance. (Bill M.) He might be able to use those in a police line up. Next time you see him, ask him what attacked him on a golf course years ago!!!

Beth, I do think zoos serve a valuable purpose for some species which probably wouldn't survive without the manmade habitat, but for other non-endangered creatures I'm less enthusiastic about their involvement. It just seems a bit cruel to cage raptors like owls, hawks and eagles, for example. Perhaps I'm overly anthropomorphizing them, but I can't imagine them being "happy" in such a setting.

Lyle, that was probably Bill's fault, as he always was a little confused about the concept of a "birdie," not having ever experienced one. ;-)

Great owl photos! Being at the right place at the right time does count for a lot of great photos. :)

Denise, I'm one of those "I'd rather be lucky than good" photographers...