It seems this season is a poor one for raptors in the north, and those of us who live in warmer climes are seeing more of them now. "Birders" with cameras find them irresistible as photo subjects. But there must be a zillion photos out there of owls staring at the photographer, usually in the wide-open settings where they most often look for lunch. All these photos look pretty much alike alike; once in a while a photo might be taken of an owl with bloodied talons or even dead prey, but they tend to retreat to eat. Photos of such subjects are sought after, even if they are pretty much of identical birds in identical settings. I can imagine that owls, if they could and cared to observe humans, would notice field characteristics--colorful 'plumages,' typical postures and approaches, but potentials that might be dangerous. Unlikelier than a tasty warm or vole, humans clumsily tend to hold to their faces glassy instruments. Humans have an anxious tendency to edge closer and closer to owls, all too often until they become unwelcome. By searching the internet it is easy for us humans to find innumerable snowy owl photos. But that seems not enough. We want to see our 'own' owls, in our 'own' place, even though it is almost always indistinguishable. Each birder must share his or her 'own' identical image, tedious as it must be, of a snowy perched on a beach, looking suspiciously toward the camera. This is a lot more boring than stamp-collecting, but we seem drawn to share out OWN versions of the standard photo. This is just a bit strange, and always tedious for folks who view the results; it is something the owls too put up with, even if carefully undertaken. --Bill Whan ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: listserv.miamioh.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]