"Storm," the Barn Owl, makes a cameo appearance...

"Storm," the Barn Owl, is a teaching owl at RAPTOR, Inc. in Cincinnati, Ohio. RAPTOR is a non-profit organization committed to the preservation of birds of prey. RAPTOR members rehabilitate injured birds of prey until they can be released back into the wild. Unfortunately, some have permanent damage and can't hunt or survive on their own, so they stay on at RAPTOR as educational birds. Last autumn I  photographed many of their resident birds, and Storm was one of them. Storm was admitted to RAPTOR on June 26, 2007 as a nestling with a severe left wing soft tissue wound. The owl's left wing had been caught in the seam of a barn and was not able to be saved. Since then, Storm has become one of the most photographed and beloved of their educational birds (click here for all past RAPTOR, Inc. posts).

Whenever I post photos of captive raptors, I always make sure to let artists know they can use the photos as references for their paintings, so I was especially happy when I heard from the very talented and interesting Virginia painter Mary Chiaramonte. Mary put our beautiful Storm in one of her paintings and sent me a photo of it that I could post. If you look at the shed, Storm is perched on the right side of the roof...

"Trespass" by Mary Chiaramonte
(Storm the Barn Owl is perched on the right side of the roof...looking very Stormy! I love the night-feel in this painting.)

Mary's paintings are multi-faceted and very interesting. I can't stop looking at them! They are made up of layer upon layer of emotion. You'll have to take your time and study them. Click here to see more of her paintings. Thank you, Mary for sending me the photo! If you are interested in keeping up with Mary's work, you can "friend " her on Facebook because she posts new paintings there: http://www.facebook.com/mary.chiaramonte.9

Since Storm has been made famous in Mary's painting, I thought I would include a few more photos of our gorgeous star. These are all great reference photos for artists and painters focusing on cryptic feather patterns, wing shape, and close-ups of those amazing talons and feet...

Barn Owl feathers have beautiful cryptic colors and patterns to help camouflage it.

...a profile shot of Storm the Barn Owl with a bit of "eyeshine" triggered by the morning sunlight reflecting off the tapetum lucidum, a reflective layer of cells behind the retina that helps owls and other nocturnal animals see at night (click here for more about eyeshine and the tapetum lucidum).  

Storm in the classic Count Dracula pose...

The silent flight of nocturnal owls has intrigued humans forever. It's achieved because of a unique adaptation to the trailing feathers on the back end of the wing. The leading edge (primary feathers) are serrated, which helps with stability, but the trailing feathers are fringed and tattered and account for the silence by breaking up the sound waves generated as air flows over the top of the wings and forms downstream wakes (source: National Geographic, "Owls' Silent Flight May Inspire Quiet Aircraft Tech," by John Roach. Click here for the complete article).    

These large, forward facing eyes allow for good stereoscopic vision, which helps owls judge distances. Owls have the most forward facing eyes of all birds...and the flat face allows the eyes to be spaced as widely apart as possible to increase the stereoscopic effect. It's easy to see where the nickname, "Old Flatface" came from. For more on owl eyesight, click here.

The strong, long and sharp talons on owls' and other raptors'  feet can do a lot of damage and set them apart from other birds. Birds of prey have a locking mechanism that keeps the toes locked around their prey without having to use muscles to remain contracted. Click here for more specifics on owls' talons.  

Painting a Barn Owl...

This Barn Owl's name is Storm. She's a rescued owl from RAPTOR, Inc. One day last fall, Matty and I went to a photo shoot of the raptors. I based this painting on one of the photos Matty took. It made him happy that I preferred his photo over all of mine! Storm is a beautiful bird. She is a working educational bird with RAPTOR, Inc. because her wing was damaged and she can no longer fly.

Painting 208. Storm the Barn Owl

(watercolor, 12x16)

Pencil sketch of Storm the Barn Owl.

I sketched this drawing in the car (of course) while waiting to pick Matty up from school. Matty is just a week or so away from receiving his driver's license. It will be nice to gain some time back in my schedule, but when am I going to get all of my sketching in? I love leaving work to go pick him up. It's always great to take a sketching break...

Barns Owls are not that common in Ohio. In all my life I've only heard a Barn Owl call in the night twice—the first time was in 1990 in the pine trees in our backyard where we used to live, and the second time was two years ago in our backyard. I got out Peterjohn's "The Birds of Ohio—with Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas Maps" to see what the Ohio breeding population actually was (pg 264). It's very low. Peterjohn reports that Barn Owls really didn't take hold in Ohio until the mid-1800s after the thick forests of the countryside were cut and converted to farmland. The first specimen was collected from the Cincinnati area around 1861. Most Barn Owls are not permanent residents in Ohio. As spring migrants, Barn Owls arrive between March 15 and April 15. A few Barn Owls do overwinter here, though, most of them in southern and central Ohio. Unlike Great Horned Owls, who are already nesting, Barn Owls begin nesting in mid-April. Nestlings hatch through June and July, and young fledge by mid-August.

About RAPTOR, Inc.

Most of the birds that flow through RAPTOR are treated, rehabbed, and released back into nature, but some can never heal from their injuries and stay on as permanent residents and working birds. RAPTOR, Inc. is a non-profit organization committed to the preservation of birds of prey. RAPTOR stands for the Regional Association for the Protection and Treatment of Raptors. Members of RAPTOR, Inc. rehabilitate and care for injured birds of prey until they can be released back into the wild. Click here for RAPTOR, Inc.'s HackBack newsletter and to learn how to donate to the organization, volunteer, or sponsor a banded raptor.

RAPTOR, Inc.'s 2012 Calendar

I'm in this year's RAPTOR, Inc. calendar! My photo of Pricilla, the Barred Owl, is April's raptor. Click here for Pricilla's story. Click here if you'd like to buy the calendar. All proceeds benefit RAPTOR, Inc., and your contribution is tax deductible. Cost is $17.50.

Click here for Storm's story.
Click here for more of the birds from RAPTOR, Inc.

The beauty of a Barn Owl...

...continued from the previous post of Priscilla, the Barred Owl.
Storm, the Barn Owl, made her appearance with a raucous flourish any Barn Owl would be proud of--unrelenting screams! The first time I heard a Barn Owl scream was in 1990. Rick and I lived in Maineville back then, and barns still dotted the countryside. Our second-floor bedroom hung beside a grove of towering pines that bordered a farmer's field. It was cold out that night, but for some reason we had opened the windows so we could listen to the wind in the pines. The screaming started at about 4:00 a.m. "OMG...is someone being murdered? That sound can't be human...are Banshees real?" The eerie night sounds started to fade, and it finally dawned on us that we were listening to two Barn Owls calling to each other in the pines outside our window. The calls were amazing and terrifying, and I loved hearing them...

Storm, the Barn Owl, making her (or maybe "his") appearance...punctuated with an exclamation mark!

Storm is gorgeous. I've always thought Barn Owls were beautiful, but seeing one up close blew me away. The colors in her feathers are carmelly warm and rich, and her heart-shaped face is extraordinary.

...I couldn't get enough of the patterns and colors in her wings and feathers.

...this is Storm's good wing, her other wing is partially amputated. She got it caught in a barn door, and it couldn't be saved.

...she backs up her beauty with terrifyingly sharp and strong talons.

...snowy white feathers tipped in carmel.

...beautiful.

RAPTOR, Inc. is a non-profit organization committed to the preservation of birds of prey. RAPTOR stand for the Regional Association for the Protection and Treatment of Raptors. Members of RAPTOR, Inc. rehabilitate and care for injured birds of prey until they can be released back into the wild. Click here for RAPTOR, Inc.'s HackBack newsletter and to learn how to donate to the organization, volunteer, or sponsor a banded raptor.