Bubo bubo~

On By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, Wild Life

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~

227 thoughts on “Bubo bubo~”

  8. I love majestry of owls, and Bubo Bubo looks especially Majestic as the King of the Owls ..
    Hoot Hoot (a Haiku)

    Hoot, listen and learn 
    The old wise owl said sternly 
    Hoot, then he adjourned

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  16. Amazing fuzzy feet! Good to hear the population is growing. I’m always thrilled to hear owls (great horned and barred) where I live. And now that rodenticides have been banned in British Columbia, they shouldn’t get unintentionally poisoned.

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  18. Guten Sonntag Cindy,
    Irgendwie habe ich in den letzten Wochen deinen Blog verloren. Habe mich heute wieder bei dir angemeldet und bin glücklich.
    Ich wünsche dir einen feinen 1. Advent und sende liebe Grüße. Ernst

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    1. Ich bin so froh, dass wir wieder verbunden sind, Ernst! Es ist nicht deine Schuld. WordPress entfolgt Menschen ohne deren Wissen. WordPress erkennt dies an, behebt es aber nicht. Es ist wunderbar, von dir zu hören, mein Freund, und pass gut auf dich auf.

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  23. Magnificent! Have you read Owls of the Eastern Ice, by Jonathan Slaght, about the author’s quest to conserve this wonderful creature’s habitat in Eastern Russia.? Recommended!

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  24. Wonderful, Cindy! I have a friend who has raised these owls for 20 years, and I have had the opportunity to see them release some young ones. Magnificent birds and gorgeous photography as usual. They are recovering in Sweden as well.

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      1. I will, Cindy. He is a really nice person living with his wife out in the forest. He has a bathtub under some trees and he sleeps in a hammock outdoors half of the year. But they do have a house and everything needed too…

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  30. Oh Cindy, what a magnificent bird. It is great to see those that are mostly night birds, but even better to hear they are regaining their numbers. Beautiful pictures dear lady , and the share very appreciated 😀❤️🙏🏽

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    1. I hoo back an forth regularly with The Great Horned Owls at The Holler. One night one swooped silently about a inch from my head, riffling my short hair with total precision. He was hooting for courtship. He wanted me to know that he knew I was an imposter. Amazing დ

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  48. Pingback: Bubo bubo~ — (don’t miss any of the pictures…from Cindy) | Rethinking Life

  50. What a stunning creature! I am so glad that conservation efforts are in place for this owl – as well as other animals. I cannot stand the thought of extinction of a species. Thanks for sharing your exceptional photos, Cindy!

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  55. 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.

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  61. 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!

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  63. 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.

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    1. 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

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  71. Pingback: Bubo bubo~ — – Echoes in the Mist

  81. 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.

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    1. 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

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  82. 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.

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  83. 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?

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    1. 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

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  88. 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…

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    1. 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

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      1. 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…

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  90. 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.

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    1. 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

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  91. 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.

    🙂

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      1. 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. 😀

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          1. 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! 🙂

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    1. 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! 😉

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    1. 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

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