Hannie Heere, 64, caught a small barn owl learning to fly in the Netherlands. In the image, which was shared online, the girl appears to be running at full speed. Miss Heere explained that the young owl was actually strengthening its muscles.
An absolutely adorable snapshot has recently taken the internet by storm. The now-viral photo shows a sweet barn owl acting like he’s late for the most important meeting of his life. The precious moment was captured on camera by Dutch photographer Hannie Heere, and now people can’t get enough of seeing it. Although she has been a great fan of photography for most of her life, the 63-year-old Dordrecht-based photographer has taken it seriously in recent years. But it was apparently enough to capture a once-in-a-lifetime scene.
A few months ago, Hannie was out of town looking for some good shots, when she saw a barn owl. The sweet little thing still had fluffy white chick feathers, meaning it couldn’t fly yet. It turns out that baby owls are strong enough to flap their wings only when they are 7-8 weeks old. Until then, however, the chicks’ feet are strong enough to let them rouse around their nest.
This is what happened in this situation. Apparently the little owl took off for a run and the talented photographer captured the exact moment. The result? A beautiful photo that made each and every person on Facebook fall in love with the cute baby owl. “She was lying on the ground,” Hannie explained to PetaPixel. “This young bird tells that it had not yet flown and was not afraid. I took the photo from a distance of about 5 to 6 meters [about 16 feet].”
However, the photographer never expected her photo to be so popular on social media, instead the adorable photo caused huge waves online. “I was very, very shocked,” the woman said. To learn more about Hannie’s work, you can visit her Facebook!