A Burrowing Owl Bonanza

A few days ago we found a family of Burrowing Owls in Box Elder County, Utah but it was late in the morning and the sun was high so I wasn’t happy with my images of them. So yesterday we got up in what seemed like the middle of the night (3:30 AM) in order to arrive at the burrow at dawn. There are two adults and at least six young birds on location but since I’m shooting at the burrow from my vehicle it’s almost impossible to get a clear shot of birds there because of obstructing vegetation. Thankfully there are nearby rustic fence posts that the owls habitually perch on.

 

burrowing owl 3323 ron dudley

1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

This is about as clear a shot as I can get at the burrow but even here sharp eyes will notice that there’s out of focus vegetation in front of two of the birds so this shot is for documentation of behavior only.

Young Burrowing Owls are known for their personality, appealingly goofy behavior and curiosity. Here three of the six youngsters are investigating a large beetle (possibly a stink bug) in front of the bird on the left as the insect crawls across the burrow mound. In almost this same inquisitive posture all three birds followed it down the side of the mound – it was cute as the dickens to watch.

 

 

MK2_2910

1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 1600, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

I could get clear shots of the birds on the fence posts but since I didn’t approach the burrow area closely they were fairly small in the frame while they were perched. So I came up with a strategy – my primary goal would be takeoff and flight shots since birds with open wings take up a much larger portion of the frame and require significantly less cropping. Flight shots in the low light of dawn (these last two images were taken at 6:36 AM) are a huge challenge because of the high shutter speeds required to get these incredibly fast little owls sharp so I was happy for the much improved high ISO capabilities of the Canon 7D Mark II. I was constantly fiddling with camera settings in an attempt to keep my SS to a minimum of 1/2500 to 1/3200 sec. Sometimes I even exceeded that.

This juvenile surprised me. I expected it to take off on yet another practice flight in the general direction it was facing but in the next frame…

 

 

burrowing owl 2911 ron dudley

1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 1600, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

it twisted on its perch as it took off and dove down toward the burrow. I like the rustic old post, the flight posture and the effect of the golden light on the image overall. And I really like the sharpness of the image under these conditions.

Today’s post is only a taste of images to come from this session with the owls. I have quite a few shots of them that I like but I barely finished culling images before writing this post so there’s only one photo here that I’m proud of.

I love it when lost sleep and a long drive in the dark result in many images that I’m pleased with. All too often that just doesn’t happen.

Ron

Note: It’s often a little awkward when I post images from a new owl burrow (or any nest) because I typically get requests to reveal the location. It’s been my long-term policy to not reveal nest locations of any species (owls in particular) because of the very real dangers of some folks not giving the birds the respect and space they need, especially at nesting time. I’ve documented one of the incidents that prompted that policy here if you’re interested.

 

23 Comments

  1. They are incredibly cute, aren’t they? I love the “stalking the beetle” shot.

  2. Ooooh. Burrowing owls.
    A very mixed post though.
    I loved (how could I not) your photos of the cheeky charmers. And then went back to your link. Which left me fuming with ballistic rage. (Before six in the morning) Selfish oxygen thief. Hiss and spit. Painful haemorrhoids (and dental pain) to him too.

  3. Ron–I checked out your link re: the very intrusive photographer and understand your frustration, and reluctance to confront…for one thing, in our gun-happy society, you never know who has one, and who might react with vilolence…or determined stupidity…yet the desire to “do something” remains. What about a handout? These people are ignorant and ignorance can (hopefully) be “cured” by education (unfortunately, greed and stupidity can’t)…it could either be handed out directly to them or slipped under the wipers. I’d take a shot of them approaching the birds and one of their license plates, too….surreptitiously…

    • Patty, Antelope Island is a state park and they’re understandably reluctant to have civilians involved with any kind rule enforcement (other than reporting infractions). Placing educational signs near burrows has been considered but there’s fear the signs would just attract more attention to the burrows (most folks don’t even see them). And besides, burrows are often used and then abandoned for many years or for good.

      • So I can’t shoot the SOB’S or slash their tires…OK. I get it…kind of……..

  4. Ron…I am so glad that you keep nest locations confidential. I so respect your
    immense integrity in not disturbing the birds….and people have that tendency to flock
    en masse to a site and then….well, we know what happens.
    So THANK you for being so kind.

    • Not revealing nest locations can be a ticklish subject, Karen. Some apparently think doing so is a selfish effort to keep the location to myself for my own photographic purposes. Nothing I can say or do will dissuade them of that perception but so be it…

      Thank you for the encouragement.

  5. Ok, this is fabulous…and what I needed today.
    Thank you Ron (and Neil too)!

  6. Bravo, Ron
    I won’t duplicate the comment I left on Mia’s post, but I will say that your example should be followed by all birders and nature lovers. I’ll look forward to my upcoming Owl fixes from the two of you.
    Neil

    P.S. Thanks for your recent comment on NPN.

  7. Owl medicine…nothing else like it! Love twisting take off from wonderful weathered wood post almost as much as the bug watchers. I always get a kick out of animals, especially dogs, watching bugs…they look so funny,always make me laugh. Can’t wait to see what else you have re. these funny, funny little owls. Thanks for the smile….needed it.

  8. WOW!!!!! Such fun!!!!!! Great images!! Thanks for including that line about constantly adjusting your settings. I always watch what you’ve written when I read your posts and was wondering if you had a set shutter speed you preferred or what. That’s always such a challenge … never fails, while I’m busily fiddling with my camera, the wildlife will perform amazing tricks!!!

    • “while I’m busily fiddling with my camera, the wildlife will perform amazing tricks!!!”

      Yup, that’s one of the challenges of wildlife photography, Lois – particularly with birds because they’re so fast. That exact thing happened to me more than once with these owls yesterday morning. In fact, your comment reminded me of several of them that I missed…

  9. A wonderful series. I never noticed the blurry plants in the first one until I went back to look after reading what you wrote. I can only imagine how much fun it was to watch those babies. Seems like it’s akin to watching a kitten tracking moving things. The flight shot is gorgeous. I love how it shows the patterns on the right wing. I’m really looking forward to see what else you post from this session.

    • “I’m really looking forward to see what else you post from this session.”

      Thanks very much, Susan. Some of the images I’ll post will be behavioral and some will be more aesthetic (I hope) but all of them should be interesting.

      I could spend all day watching juvenile Burrowing Owls, just for the entertainment factor. It’s a real bonus when I get the image.

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