Truly shocked to come across a new original picture of a. BFO! 😮
This must have been such a special opportunity for the photographer.
From Jonathan Wadsworth
Blakiston's Fish Owl, the largest owl in the world.
Settings: 800mm, 1/80s, f/6.3, ISO 8000
This photo was taken at a licensed observatory in Hokkaido, where a special pulsing LED light provides both birdwatchers and scientists a place to observe the owls without disturbing them or seeking them out in their sensitive nesting areas.
Unfortunately, they are critically endangered, relying on mature boreal forest near clean-flowing rivers, habitat that is drastically disappearing. In Hokkaido, conservation has been successful so far, with the population increasing from only 70 birds in the 1980s to at least 160 now. It's still a perilously small population however.
They are very big and badass! I always hear they're the size of a fire hydrant, but I just check and apparently not every country uses hydrants so I can't use that.
Not alive, but full wingspan compared to an adult human
<3
Delightful!
One never knows what new facts they will learn here!
Australia:
England:
Germany:
US:
Of course there are many variations in each country and some even have them completely underground!
For a better comparison, the BFO should be about 4 bananas long. 😇
there are so many variations of banana though
I replaced one useless comparison with another as a joke, but then I went back and realized it doesn't have the real info in the post. I feel it's still hard to picture jthem ust from measurements, especially as the owls don't really look the size and weight they are. Here's the real details though!
From Hokaido Photo Tours:
What are these English blokes doing with their funny little design?
Thanks for sharing those!
Great Googly Moogly! That is a BFO! ;)
I just added another comment in the main thread with a photo of an Ainu owl ceremony. The BFO is the god who guards the village and is very important to their beliefs.