Mottled-wood Owl (Strix ocellata)
My encounter with this owl was in Palakkad, South India.
I have roamed countless nights in search with my camera at the ready in search of this elusive owl. The wait proved worth it and the bird was much more beautiful than what I was told about. The mottled wood owl prefers to hunt at night. They are commonly found in areas closer to forests, and other wooded areas.
The densely-marked orange-and-gray coloration is unique. The underside is predominantly white with darkish orange stripes. The white back ground of the face is striated with darker rings. They have a white throat and dark eyes. Ear tufts are absent.
November to March is the breeding season, and they typically nest in the hollows of tall trees or branches. The typical brood is one offspring and rarely two. The preferred prey is rodents, frogs and chameleons.
One afternoon, I received a call from a friend that the owl was stalking has been observed in an area in Palakkad. The next day early morning we met and set across on a motorbike ride to Palakkad. We enjoyed the ride from Thrissur to Palakkad, in the misty morning. By around 6.30 am we reached the spot where the owl had been cited – a valley in the shade of a big hill. The landscape was interspaced with rocky black outcrops, shrubs and big palm trees for shade and other smaller trees.
Armed with camera and binoculars I started on foot following my friend. We sighted a lot a smaller bird species, but even while shooting them my mind was full of the images of my target owl. Trekking across the small hillocks, the heat and exhaustion started getting to us. Our stash of biscuits and bananas were also dwindling. We started losing hope and thoughts about retreating kept cropping up. We decided to rest for a while and then start on foot again once the sun became milder. We rested under the shade of a tree and my friend injected hope saying that the chances of a sighting are more in the evening hours when owl becomes more active.
The weather turned cloudy after four pm, we saw some crows circling an area and making a cacophony. Though a bit far off, we set across there. And there was the owl, the beautiful bird that we were seeking on a boulder. It was restless moments for my camera. I crawled across the rock to get near, mindless off the fact that I was getting skinned at the knees and elbows. Now it was time for my dream in-flight shots. The night started falling, and then it was the moment when another mental image framed in my mind materialized. Two owls sitting on a branch together. By then it was truly dark and with our hearts content and camera full of images, we called it a day.
On my next visit to India, I will be back. A trek back to that hilly place were a few dreams came true!
