Eastwood Metropark Great Horned Owls

We took advantage of the lovely sunshine today and visited a Great Horned Owl nest in Montgomery County.

Still one Owlet in the nest with Mom. The other was soaking up that sun. Had fun visiting and chatting with other owl watchers!

Swan vs Turtles

 

Sound on!

This Mute Swan at Old Reid Park had us in stitches today. I shot video with my OM-1 M2 to catch the action.

It did not want the turtles on "his" log.

Kind of like a Whack-a-Turtle game.

Wood Ducks

While hiking at Old Reid/Kirby Preserve today, I spotted this Wood Duck pair.
I've observed Wood Ducks in this location several times over the years, and I suspect that they nest nearby.
What gorgeous ducks!!

Montgomery County Great Horned Owls

 We made the short drive to Montgomery County to see and photograph a Great Horned Owl nest .
Remarkably, this nest is in the open and is easily viewable. Apparently, it's been the site of a GHO nest for about 8 years. 

 

Lunar Eclipse

 I shot the Full Worm Moon Lunar Eclipse from midnight until 5:15 am. While I was using the Vaonis Vespera smart telescope, I also shot with my regular camera gear...the OM-i M2 and Zuiko 100-400mm lens. 
I much prefer the OM-1 images, as they show off the lovely red colors.
Here's a couple and a composite image with images from the main phases.  

A Pileated Woodpecker at Old Reid Park.

 

Great(er) Day for Ducks at Old Reid

 Some quackers from Old Reid this afternoon. The theme today was "Greater." We're starting to see a variety of ducks and geese move through as the ice melts. Of note today were Lesser Scaups and a single Greater Scaup. The Lesser Scaups have dark head feathers and a bit of a crest on the back of their head....whereas the Greater Scaup has green head feathers and a more rounded head. The Greater is not rare, but it is unusual to see one for me at Old Reid. Also saw the Greater White-Fronted Geese that Bill saw yesterday, and some Hooded Mergansers.

Greater Scaup on the left with a couple of Lesser Scaup

Greater Scaup wing flap.

Greater Scaup with a Scaup hen (unknown if Greater or Lesser).

Greater White-Fronted Geese.

Hooded Mergansers

Winter Landscapes

 

Horned Larks

Horned Larks can be seen in flocks along the berms of snowy roads. 

 

Sunset Eagles

 The Hodge Road Eagles were enjoying the sunset this evening. 

Great Blue Heron

 This Great Blue Heron was protecting it's access to open water at the CJ Brown overflow.
We watched as it chased away another heron, then came back to gloat. 

Buck Creek

 A gorgeous sunset at Buck Creek State Park a couple of nights ago. 

Fog rolling in from the Prairie View area

More CJ Brown Auroras

 This Solar Max Cycle is churning up Auroras that were visible last night into the southern US.
We photographed them from the CJ Brown Reservoir and the show did not disappoint!
Here's a few favorites, and many more are uploaded into our Auroras Gallery (linked above). 

Ohio Auroras.....Again!!!!

Tonight we had another Aurora show at CJ Brown.
We hadn't intended to stop there, but fellow photographer, Mary Ann, messaged me that she and her hubby were there and that they had some faint color.
We dropped by and as we were chatting in the dark and getting chilled, the aurora popped up and put on a show!!
The Kp Index (measurement of Earth's magnetic field) had suddenly jumped up to 7.
The colors and pillars were faintly visible to the naked eye, but our cameras caught them beautifully. 
I was without my tripod, but thanks to the OM-1's 7 stops of image stabilization, I was able to hand-hold these shot. They were all 4 second exposures. In addition, the OM-1's Starry Sky autofocus mode locked focus on the stars effortlessly. 
Some favorites.