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.

  • brbpostingEnglish
    2·
    6 hours ago

    hear they’re the size of a fire hydrant, but I just check and apparently not every country uses hydrants

    <3

    Delightful!

    • anon6789@lemmy.worldOP
      3·
      5 hours ago

      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. 😇

      • festnt
        2·
        5 hours ago

        there are so many variations of banana though

        • anon6789@lemmy.worldOP
          2·
          4 hours ago

          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:

          The Blakiston’s Fish Owl is the largest owl species on our planet. Males weigh from 2.95 to 3.6 kg (6.5 to 8 lb), while the female weighs up to 2.95 to 4.6 kg (6.5 to 10.1 lb), about 25% larger. The Blakiston’s Fish Owl measures 60 to 72 cm (24 to 28 in) in total length. The Eurasian eagle-owl is sometimes thought to be the largest owl species and is a close match in size to the Blakiston’s fish owl, but to date, all recorded measurements of the two put the Blakiston’s Fish Owl as the overall largest owl species.

      • brbpostingEnglish
        2·
        5 hours ago

        What are these English blokes doing with their funny little design?

        Thanks for sharing those!