John Ashley in Montana submitted this photo to EarthSky this week. He captured it on June 5. He wrote:
A juvenile great-horned owl eclipses the 91% moon rise on her first night out in the big, wide world after fledging from her nest in the afternoon.
The parents will deliver food to her and a sibling until they are strong enough fliers to follow their parents while hunting at night.
Nikon D750, 200mm f2.8 lens, 1/30 sec f4.0 at ISO 5000.
Photoshop CS6
Thank you, John!
By the way, John also posted the following video on his Facebook page, which shows two young owlets on their first day out of the nest.
Both owlets fledged from their nest. Video from their first day afield — and from their first moonlit night — shows them sleeping, preening, stretching, sleeping, beak clacking, gular (throat) fluttering, sleeping, and one adult defending the territory from a bald eagle. Sound effects from songbirds, grouse, a loon and frogs. Did I mention that young owls like to sleep a lot?
Posted by John Ashley Fine Art Photography on Saturday, June 6, 2015
More from John Ashley: What bird song looks like at dawn
Enjoying EarthSky so far? Sign up for our free daily newsletter today!