The Bubo bubo AKA Eurasian Eagle Owl is the world’s heaviest owl.
It’s wingspan can reach over 6 feet!
These owls are top of the line predators, meaning they are not normally prey for other animals, and will even occasionally prey on other raptors.
I got to spend time with this beauty as he flew free at his home in Avian Behavior International in rural Southern California.
Bubo bubo’s are native to Europe, Asia and parts of Africa.
Their populations declined heavily in the mid 1900’s, but due to conservation efforts, the species is recovering.
Cheers to you from The gorgeous, free flying Bubo bubo~
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aww she looks super soft and fluffy. her eyes remind me my first cat😆
Smiling. He is a beauty and he can see in the dark just like your cat! დ
Wonderful photos of this magnificent bird!
Honored. Thank you very much & cheers to you დ
I love owls and raptors. Your photography lets me see them up close. Thank you. 🙂
You are so welcome Dani. I დ my friends who დ owls! დ
Perfect pictures … again!
Your kindness is sincerely appreciated Pit დ
The patterns, the textures, the blending of blacks and tans, his eyes, his huge feathery feet, your amazing photo of his uplifted wing–all just gorgeous! Thank you for these amazing photos from the avian sanctuary.
Kathy, thank you much more for your heartfelt appreciation of this amazing creature, and for you kind thoughtfulness. Take good care always დ
Oh my god this owl is large…
Yes! It is a very good thing we are not a big fat squirrel!! დ
fantastic! 🦉
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So appreciated Graham! Thank you დ
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So beautiful!
Isn’t he a stunning creature! დ
marvellous!
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What an impressive specimen! Glad I’m not a small rodent in his territory…Great photos. Thank you.
You are very welcome Joy. It is definitely good to be human sized when approached by a creature like this! დ
These are amazing Cindy. Owls are such mystical creatures! 🦉
Gorgeous!!!! What a stunning bird.
Why is it that we almost annihilate a species before we say oops, and try to save them? Great shots, Cindy!
I think, possibly, the creatures are way smarter than us. They know what matters. Love to you Resa
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In the opening close-up, Bubo Bubo appears to be an old soul.
Yes, indeed. The wisdom of ages დ
Oh my gracious, what a chunky little owl!! He looks like he’s stuffed from Thanksgiving dinner! I love the photo where it looks like he’s laughing. Thanks for more gorgeous owl pictures, Cindy.
I so love how you see him Debbie! Thank you დ
Beautiful, and I imagine a little scary. The photo with an open wing is magnificent.
Thank you Jennie. I am taking my 4yo twin grandsons to meet them. Hopefully they won’t be scared. I think I will introduce them to the little owls and the parrots, not this big boy! დ
Good plan!
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Stunningly gorgeous creature!
He is a natural born beauty! დ
What a beautiful beast of a bird! Look at the size of those claws. The plumage is gorgeous… Wonderful images, Cindy.
So happy you like him & he is a bouncing big boy!! Thank you Dale & cheers დ
Your photos are so beautiful, Cindy. I had no idea about their size!
Thank you for your thoughtful comments Kymber. I so appreciate them & you დ
Thank you for the detail images of this beauty! H guy pod yo learn about it.
You are so welcome Amy & cheers to you my friend დ
You captured magnificence! Hope you had a glorious Thanksgiving weekend.
Awww…. So thoughtful of you Frank & so appreciated too. Happy Holidays my friend დ
Beautiful captures Cindy !
Thanks so much! Happy you enjoyed დ
Pingback: Bubo bubo~ — – Echoes in the Mist
Grateful for YOU Sharon. Thank you sincerely დდ
Stunning…never seen this bird before…thanks Cindy!
You are most welcome Rajani. Happy you enjoyed დ
Just curious why he’s here if they’re native to Europe, South Africa, and Asia. Do they fly that far? I don’t know much about owls.
He is in an avian sanctuary and is trained so he can fly free and return დ
Wow!!!
What a beauty!!! Don’t you just love nature, all the different species? I loved this owl … thank you, Cindy, for posting this!
Yes. I do love the natural world and all it’s creatures great & small. You are most welcome Jill and I am happy you enjoyed him დ
Wowwww. Beautiful! This furry, feathered, feet (say that 3 times fast) look like they can GRIP. Beautiful bird.
I was just reading that our Great Horned Owl can carry 9 pounds. That is one big mouse!! დ
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I did not know there were owls this big, Cindy! Great shots of a beautiful subject.
He is a big beautiful lethal boy! Thank you and I am happy you enjoyed him დ
Absolutely stunning, Cindy! An owl hooted outside my window last night as I fell asleep (with a smile on my lips.)
Yes! Same here. I love our Great Horned Owls singing me to sleep. It provokes a feeling of peace and tranquility დ
Cindy, I need your camera and location to take such magnificent photos. 🙂
Smiling….. I would love to share both with you Tangie & thank you my friend დ
Wow, that is one mean looking powerful bird!
Alison
Well, he will not put up with BS, which is why I love him. დ
Great photos.
Grazie mille დ
I’ve mentioned before how much I like owls. This one is very handsome. We had one in the trees behind my trailer in the park and I would be very quiet going out the back door so he would continue his solo commentary. I do miss him or her.
I do so understand why you miss him/her. Living with the night time soliloquy of an owl, I am guessing a Great Horned, is one of the most mysterious gifts of life. If you matched your verbalization hoo hoo pattern to the owls, you would have mutual conversations. Believe me. I never knew this until I moved to The Holler. Love to you Marlene დ
Wow, that is an amazing, majestic and magical beauty. You captured him in the photos so well, I almost feel like I could reach in your photo and pet him.
You make me so happy I posted him E.C. Thank you & take good care დ
These delightful photos remind me of Thufir Hawat, the Mentat from Frank Herbert’s Dune. Perhaps because of his portrayal in David Lynch’s classic version. Perhaps because I see intelligence, guile, but also kindness shining through from the photos?
Yes. I was a non-card carrying member of the UCSD Science Fiction Movie Club, but I was reading science ‘faction’ more than I was watching it. The books are always better. You see this accurately (in my opinion). I see humanity in this owl, but the owl is better, he only kills to survive დ
Gorgeous owl and photos!
Thank you sincerely & be well დ
I love them and I’m happy that their population is recovering due to conservation efforts.
Yes. I am happy about this too. We need good news for a change and thank you for loving them! დ
Stunning owl and your captures, Cindy! ❤️
Much appreciated Donna & cheers to you! დ
What a stunning yet ferocious beast. 😊
Isn’t he gorgeous! Happy you like him & cheers to you დ
Love them. One of the problems they have being at the top of the food chain is that their preys are infested with pesticides, so their diet has a high content of. In France many owls (and other) are almost gone for that reason. I remember there were small owls in the trees and edges of our house in Normandy in the 60’s. One could hear them at night. A lovely sound…
Yes. You are completely correct. We still fall asleep at night to the calls of Great Horned Owls. It is the most beautiful lullaby. I am so sorry this is gone in beautiful Normandy დ
Another factor was the destruction of tree lines and hedges to put land pieces together in the 60’s 70’s. The result was the disappearance of refuge for bot owls and small rodents, their usual prey. I don’t know how it is now. Hopefully it’s improved…
Sickening….. This still goes on today where I live.
Sigh.
He’s magnificent! Great photos.
Thank you very much Susan & Happy Holidays დ
Oh…ich liebe diese unglaublich schönen Fotos! Sie sind wundervoll. Wir wohnen direkt am Wald und manchmal landen Waldkäuze auf unseren Dach, die nach Mäusen Ausschau halten.
Wie wundervoll! Es ist eine Freude, mit Eulen zu leben. Ich singe jede Nacht mit Great Horned Owls hin und her. Vielen Dank für Ihre nachdenklichen und freundlichen Worte und Ihnen eine schöne Weihnachtszeit! დ
Lovely birdie!! I heard a ‘Hoot Owl (barn) earlier this month. I didn’t know that a Hoot Owl is also known as a Tiger Owl, because some of its feathers are black and white strips (I thought I read that somewhere…). I did read though; “In fact, the barred owl’s (barn/hoot owl) hoot is the reason for another of its many common names — hoot owl. Other not-so-common names include rain owl, wood owl, eight hooter, black-eyed owl, striped owl, swamp owl, and laughing owl.
🙂
Living with owls is a joy indeed. Happy Holidays to you and yours Jules დ
I have just a bit of protected land behind my home. Just enough to give some wild animals some protection. It is a joy to live near nature. I’ve lived in cities where the only nature were a few parks or zoos.
Hurray for nature and all wild things. 😀
We think exactly alike Jules. We live abutting a nature reserve and I could never happily return to the suburbs.
I have a friend who gets a news paper that has a ‘Mansions’ section. I know I can never afford any of those homes. But just the land that surrounds some of them is amazing! 🙂
I am with you Jules. I choose land over a mansion any day.
We could have had the same home with a postage stamp yard…in the middle of the neighborhood… I chose the ‘land’ 😉
We think alike.
🙂
I can imagine his lineage tracing back to the dinosaurs. Wonderful pictures!
Sea birds in particular look just like little dinos to me დ
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What an incredible bird. Love the feather details… 💞
He is gorgeous isn’t he დ
Wow! Hardcore!! Love those tufty ears – or are they just tufts?😉Would be a fair match for Wolfie by the sound of it! Wouldn’t like to say who would come out on top!
Great Horned Owls are slightly bigger. I call back and forth with them at night. One night, a few years ago, we were calling, when I felt, did not see or hear, my hair ruffle as this magnificent powerful owl precision flew over my scalp, not hurting me at all which he so clearly could have done, but just warning me, “I know who and what you are.” Such magnificent creatures. I love living with them. But now when we call at night, I stay close to a door. I don’t want to piss them off! 😉
Weren’t you afraid of this owl?? It has a fierce look with its pointed ears and large body. This avian center sounds like an amazing place to see variety of birds and to learn about them.
No, I wasn’t afraid of him. We have Great Horned Owls at The Holler. They swoop so close to my head at night when we call back and forth, but never touch me. I love owls. They are fierce and powerful though, especially at night. დ
So cool that you are familiar with them and know their temperaments.
Where is The Holler located?
In rural Southern California.
Amazing place! Happy new year and wishing you more awesome pictures in 2023.
The colors of his feathers are truly remarkable! I’d love to see these in person.
He was a most impressive birdie! Cheers to you Bridgette დ