"What? Is that the sun? Here? In November? It is actually peeking through the clouds, maybe for about 30 seconds. Find some kind of composition now! Hmm, that dead plant will have to do."

I mustered enough energy to go for a photo walk through the Pitäjänmäki and Tali neighborhoods in Helsinki yesterday. The city is not pretty in November so I took a few "ugly" photos of dilapidated buildings and empty streets on purpose. It's November after all – our "death month". Then I tried to look for small details in the environment. I found some snowberries and mushrooms near the Mätäjoki brook. I started following it downstream towards the sea and remembered a tree which was home to tawny owls in March. I hadn't been there since. Maybe one of them was still there... Well, the day did not feel so gloomy after seeing a familiar face :)

#helsinki
#pitäjänmäki
#tali
#finland
#november
#autumn
#fall
#tawnyowl
#strixaluco
Lehtopöllö keväisessä ilta-auringossa. A tawny owl in a sunlight of the spring evening.
Lehtopöllöjä näkee harvoin, kun ne ovat hämärä- ja yöaktiivinen laji, mutta opin pari vuotta sitten, että niillä on mieluisia päivälepopaikkoja. Tammien onkaloissa ne voivat levätä suojassa ja illan tullen tarkastella ympäristöä ja ruveta saalistamaan (jyrsijöitä, lintuja tai vaikka sammakoita). Niillä on hyvä suojaväri, kuten monilla linnuilla (kuva 2).

Tawny owls are rarely seen as they are a twilight and nocturnal species, but I learned a couple of years ago that they have favorite daytime resting trees. They can rest in the hollows of shelter in the oaks, and when night falls they survey the surroundings and start hunting (rodents, birds or even frogs). They have good camouflage, like many birds (image 2).
(2023)
Viime syksynä koitin kuvata nukkuvaa pöllöä, mutta aina se tuntui havahtuvan jonkin tarkkailuun metsässä, enkä se ollut minä.
Last fall, I tried to video a sleeping owl, but it always seemed to wake up to observe something in the forest, and it wasn't me.
https://youtu.be/oew836hYIGs?si=qooei-_tpaUwtGpk

#lehtopöllö #strixaluco #tawnyowl #kattuggla
#birds #linnut #bird #lintu #wildbirds #nuts_about_birds #birdlife #birdlifesuomi #suomen_linnut #suomenlinnut #lintukuvaus #birdphotography #bird_brilliance #birdlove #birdphotographyworld #luonto #nature #naturephotography #wildlife #wildlifephotography #nuts_about_wildlife #wildlife_photography #nuts_about_nature #WildlifePhotography #luontokuva #luontokuvat #luontokuvaus #suomenluonnonvalokuvaajat #naturephotography #finnishnature #wildlifefinland
Today turned out to be a pretty decent day weather-wise. I even felt the warmth of the sun on my face – when the cold wind was courteous enough to stop blowing for a second. Is that a Christmas tree in the river? I think so. A few spiders had also noticed the sun. It's wonderful to see bugs moving on the ground after the winter. The little things in life etc... And floofy tawny owl chicks :) I hope they manage to elude goshawks.

#tawnyowl
#strixaluco
#helsinki
#tali
#mätäjoki
#finland
#spring
#march
Another beautiful and cold winter day in Helsinki. It's mid-February already, and the sun is rising higher each day – quickly. Today I was properly blinded by the light reflecting off the snow for the first time this year. First signs of spring, I guess. But then the clouds arrived once again. Blegh! I had mostly the same itinerary as before: I explored the Mätäjoki brook and its surroundings and photographed the details that caught my eye.

Frost on a branch here and snow on a rock there. I saw a few horse riders near a large harness racing track. One of them yelled: ”We’re being photographed!” It caught me off guard :D I might have looked a bit suspicious. People were playing disc golf on a nearby hill – created out of a former landfill. The sins of our past are still buried there. The weather encouraged other people to start taking photos. I wonder what the people standing on the rocks were staring at so intently for so long… And finally a photo of a person cleaning up after their dog. I really like the composition.

How was your Sunday?

Oh, the owl… I saw a sleeping tawny owl, too :)

#winter
#february
#helsinki
#tali
#mätäjoki
#finland
#tawnyowl
#strixaluco
Voici la seule photo potable que j'ai d'une des deux chouettes hulottes du hameau. Ce n'est pas terrible mais c'est bien comme ça.

Déjà parce que je n'ai pas de matos photo pour la nuit (et je n'ai pas l'envie ni les moyens d'investir pour).
Ensuite parce que les chouettes, comme tous les autres oiseaux et tous les autres animaux n'ont pas que ça à faire, de se laisser prendre en photo.

Peut-être que je pourrais forcer ma chance en plaçant un piège photographique, en me rapprochant du nid dont je pense connaître la localisation. Mais je n'ai pas envie de (risquer de) déranger ces animaux.Et puis la photographie animale ça devrait aussi être un moyen d'apprendre la patience, l'humilité.

Bref, j'ai des chouettes hulottes à côté de chez moi, j'en prends plein les oreilles la nuit et c'est trop bien. Peut-être qu'avec un peu de chance j'aurais des tofs à montrer. Sinon il y aura cette silhouette.

#Photographie #PhotographieNature #PhotographieOiseau #Ornithologie #Oiseaux #ObservationOiseaux #Rapaces #Chouette #ChouetteHulotte #Hulotte #StrixAluco #Nuit #BirdsOfPixelfed #BirdsOfMastodon #Birds #BirdWatching #Birding #BirdPhotography #BirdOfPrey #Owl #TawnyOwl #Night #Silhouette
Finbesök på landet igår!
#kattuggla #StrixAluco #TawnyOwl

Can you spot our #weekend #project?

Two nesting boxes for the tawny #owl (#StrixAluco). Minimum hight 4 Meters (placed ours at 6).

Since the cemetery across the street cut down all old oak trees, the owls disappeared and we didn't hear their characteristic 'hoo-hoo' anymore. Hope they'll return!