Owl in Guardian (1 Viewer)

[Tikli]

This photo of an owl was in Guardian Daily Photograph thread on May 1st. It says the picture was taken in Kent, UK.

May Day protests, a Green Man and a volcano: Monday’s best photos

The bird looks to me a Great Horned Owl, an American species. I wrote to Guardian editor and according to photographer (not a birder) it was taken in Kent and it's a wild bird, not taken in a zoo.

Am I wrong or is there a wild Great Horned Owl in Kent?

 

[chowchilla]

This photo of an owl was in Guardian Daily Photograph thread on May 1st. It says the picture was taken in Kent, UK.

May Day protests, a Green Man and a volcano: Monday’s best photos

The bird looks to me a Great Horned Owl, an American species. I wrote to Guardian editor and according to photographer (not a birder) it was taken in Kent and it's a wild bird, not taken in a zoo.

Am I wrong or is there a wild Great Horned Owl in Kent?

There is the Eagle Heights Wildlife Foundation near Eynsford in Kent. I know they do free-flying displays of raptors and owls, so maybe one of theirs?

 

[Farnboro John]

This photo of an owl was in Guardian Daily Photograph thread on May 1st. It says the picture was taken in Kent, UK.

May Day protests, a Green Man and a volcano: Monday’s best photos

The bird looks to me a Great Horned Owl, an American species. I wrote to Guardian editor and according to photographer (not a birder) it was taken in Kent and it's a wild bird, not taken in a zoo.

Am I wrong or is there a wild Great Horned Owl in Kent?

You're right, it's a Great Horned Owl and it's captive. Photographers lie a lot, they are easiest to catch out when they've no idea what they are photographing, as here. You wouldn't believe how many try to pass off Asian Small-clawed Otters in zoos as European Otters in the wild in Britain.

John

 

[Tikli]

Thank you both. I've sent another e-mail to the editor and await for her answer.

 

[Paul Chapman]

You're right, it's a Great Horned Owl and it's captive. Photographers lie a lot, they are easiest to catch out when they've no idea what they are photographing, as here. You wouldn't believe how many try to pass off Asian Small-clawed Otters in zoos as European Otters in the wild in Britain.

John

And how many wildlife trusts then publish them as such.........

😮

 

[Mono]

The fault lies solely with the photographer. The newspapers use use the description provided.

Wild life in Kent

KENT, UNITED KINGDOM - APRIL 29: A owl flies over the meadow after a night of hunting for food in Kent, United Kingdom on April 29, 2023.

www.anadoluimages.com

 

[Xenospiza]

Is Yorkshire-fog (Holcus lanatus) already that far advanced in Kent? Ten days later in the Netherlands it certainly is not.

 

[Sangahyando]

Is Yorkshire-fog (Holcus lanatus) already that far advanced in Kent? Ten days later in the Netherlands it certainly is not.

You're right, the general state of the grass in that image looks like more something you'd expect in June. Or maybe late May. Maybe there was a spelling error and the picture was taken in the southern US instead of southern UK?

 

[Farnboro John]

You're right, the general state of the grass in that image looks like more something you'd expect in June. Or maybe late May. Maybe there was a spelling error and the picture was taken in the southern US instead of southern UK?

Or last summer.

John

 

[James Lowther]

There’s two different non-native owl species in the series of photos advertised by the photographer.
Either he’s had one incredible evening or he’s just a bare faced liar LOL
Cheers
James

 

[kb57]

So it's clear the owl wasn't taken last Monday (I see meadow buttercup as well as Yorkshire fog, no way that was 01 May), and if it was in Kent, wasn't a wild bird. Lazy of the Guardian, but if I was them I'd be asking for my money back from the photographer.

 

[aeshna5]

So it's clear the owl wasn't taken last Monday (I see meadow buttercup as well as Yorkshire fog, no way that was 01 May), and if it was in Kent, wasn't a wild bird. Lazy of the Guardian, but if I was them I'd be asking for my money back from the photographer.

Meadow Buttercups are certainly flowering in small numbers around here in west London, though not Yorkshire Fog.

 

[greer3]

It's not like the Grauniad to get something wrong

 

[Jos Stratford]

Maybe there was a spelling error and the picture was taken in the southern US instead of southern UK?

Given the photographer typed out the full 'United Kingdom', it must be a rather large spelling mistake

 

[Sangahyando]

Given the photographer typed out the full 'United Kingdom', it must be a rather large spelling mistake

Maybe he was being subconsciously irredentist?

 

[dantheman]

Maybe he was being subconsciously irredentist?

Sounds like he has just has loose molars to me ...

 

[kb57]

Meadow Buttercups are certainly flowering in small numbers around here in west London, though not Yorkshire Fog.

Still at rosette stage here - must admit it's difficult to judge what stage the rest of the country's flora is at from this particularly cool and cloudy NE corner of England...I notice quite a difference in things like hawthorn blossom just between here and South Yorkshire...