Behind Bars

I think today's pictures are incredibly sad. I almost decided not to post them but I thought it was important to do so.

This beautiful Great Grey Owl is one of my favourite owls, it is largest owl species and recently I have enjoyed seeing posts by photographers in Canada (John Ongaro for example) with shots of these superb birds in the wild against beautiful snowy backdrops. I would be so excited to see a Great Grey Owl in the wild, I can't tell you how excited, it is beyond words. They are so beautiful, graceful and majestic. 

I have taken pictures of them in the past, at Chester Zoo where they are housed in a large aviary where they seem quite comfortable and content but they are still captive and it feels wrong somehow. I was talking to a friend recently about just this point. I think zoos and wildlife sanctuaries have a place for supporting conservation and rescuing sick or injured animals but some species such as this owl don't necessarily need the protection that these places offer. Of course they give people an opportunity to see the birds for themselves and that is good but at the same time I feel sad when I see them restricted when they should be flying free.

The aviary that this particular bird is in isn't particularly small and I am sure that it complies with all "industry standards" but the front was made of wooden bars which made it impossible to get a clear shot and as you can see from the second image the face is framed by the vertical bars. The first picture is a cropped image for the purpose of showing the reflection of the bars in the owls' eye and that is what gives these pictures such a sad quality.

Well having said all that I hope the tone of today's post isn't too depressing or preachy but the pictures are actually technically good and have some merit and also  I promise that tomorrow I will post something much more upbeat.