This was a day I’m sure I’ll never forget – my first up close experience with an owl of any species in the wild. I’d only been photographing birds for about a year and I still had a lot to learn – about my gear, about technique and about my avian subjects.
I spotted this Short-eared Owl from a distance, perched on some phragmites that had been knocked down by snow. In the past, every time I’d tried to approach one of these owls it would fly off when I got about half as close as I needed to for a decent shot and I fully expected that to happen this time too. But it didn’t.
I include this mediocre full frame (uncropped) image only to show you the setting and what I was dealing with regarding obstructions. I was having a hard time getting a clear shot of the bird. By this time I literally had buck fever – I remember shaking with excitement as I slowly moved closer and closer (in my pickup, in a gravel parking lot) fully expecting the bird to take off at any moment.
1/2000, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in
But eventually I was able to get so close that I had to shoot vertically.
1/2000, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in
In the three minutes I spent with this owl it never did change its position on the perch and it only gave me a few different poses. This was the most unobstructed angle I could get.
1/2000, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in
In my relative inexperience I made several mistakes while shooting this bird – among them the fact that I should have removed my teleconverter (tc) at this distance – I was marginally too tight on the owl which limited my composition choices.
But what a morning it was! After so much time of never being able to get close enough I was able to get even closer than this to two other owls on that same day (possibly the same bird?), though those perches were unnatural.
It was a special feeling to be so close to a truly wild owl. This was one of those “early in my career” experiences that really got me hooked on bird photography.
Ron
Great photo of a beautiful owl Ron! I have always admired your photos of the Short-eared owls, especially the ones you have of the two males fighting (one upside down). I had a really magical experience earlier this year at Bear River NWR. I saw two Short-eared owls flying very high and away from my car. I got out of the car to look at them with binoculars. One of them turned around, flew towards the parked car and landed on a fence post (one of thousands of fence posts available) right next to the car. The next 5 minutes were amazing as all you could hear were hearts beating and shutters going off. Hopefully someday I will be back in Utah and get to see some more of these great owls.
Stunning photos!!!! As usual… they are a real treasure to observe!
What a beautiful capture and what a beautiful owl. Amazing eyes, I truly enjoy your photos thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Lisa.
Ron, I adore raptors of any kind but the owls are my favorite. Stunning photography. I got to “meet” my first owl in the wild a couple of months ago. A barred owl decided to take up residence at a local city park, and hundreds of photographers flocked to get pictures of him, including me. Well, I’m not much of a photographer but our local news website published one of them I took! Sadly, I found out the owl was found dead a few weeks ago, most likely hit by a car. It was a very busy area and park.
That’s a sad owl story, Kathryn. I’m hoping that none of those photographers had baited the owl. I’m afraid that this kind of sad ending is all too often the case as a result of baiting.
I just returned home from a bird outing and read your post for today. How timely…our most exciting bird for the day was a Short-eared Owl! We were able to get quite close with our vehicle as it tore apart and ate some poor little critter! We also saw a Great-horned Owl sitting on a tiny nest and a Burrowing Owl. I’ve never seen 3 species of owl in one day before!
“Three owl days” don’t happen very often, Peggy. Savor it!
Oh my, we should all be so lucky to have this chance. Wonderful story, great shots!!
I bet this guy was hungry and was more concerned with finding food rather then spending the energy to fly away from a truck. Although he kept his/her eyes on the truck and you.
I was able to take a close up image of a Pileated once because he was more interested in his food source close to the ground than a human walking near him!
Absolutely LOVE those chance times with wildlife!!
You may very well be right, Dick (about the bird being hungry). Then again, this shot was taken later in the morning when these birds usually stopped hunting so perhaps it was just hunkering down for some rest. I don’t know…
Such a privilege for you to see them in their natural habitat. Such a privilege for us to be given these incredible images to enjoy. Thank you – your commentary (too critical of yourself) and the bird brighten my every morning.
I’m delighted that my post contributed to your morning, Elephant’s Child.
Love the story that goes with the photos 🙂
Thank you, Chris.
What makes your photos even more spectacular Ron, are the stories, comments which always put me right there with you! You share the full experience…
I enjoy reliving the experience while I’m writing the “stories and comments”, too.
These are so beautiful. I guess I will never make a good bird photographer because I think these photos are so exquisite. I’d be so over-the-moon to ever get a photo like any one of these. You are so critical of your images and I guess that has driven you to achieve such fabulous skill and technique–ultimately separating (by a huge chasm) the top pro from folk like me. Thanks so much.
Sharon, I should explain. I like these photos too, otherwise I (generally) wouldn’t post them. I guess it’s like many other things we work on (for me, some of my carpentry projects for example) – we see the flaws in our own work that many other folks wouldn’t even notice.
Wow, amazing photographs, and such a stunning bird! I especially appreciate the smokey eyes look–woah. Fabulous work, as ever. =)
Biobabbler, I’m glad you and Leisa mentioned those “smoky eyes”. That dark ring around the eyes of some (though not all) of these owls has always appealed to me too.
These are the first pictures of this owl in which I have noticed how striking the eyes are! The black around them just makes the golden color pop!
Good observation about the eyes, Leisa. So true.
Sounds like a great experience, and you got amazing pictures as well! Sometimes when I go out birding I don’t get any good pictures, but when I do, it makes birding much more fun and makes me want to go out birding more often.
Sam, I’m not a “birder” in the traditional sense (I don’t keep lists, for example) but on mornings when I get “skunked” as a bird photographer I often have seen some memorable avian events from a distance so I still have the memories, experiences and I’ve often learned more about birds. But, like you, getting some shots I like always makes my day and helps to keep me pumped up about photography.
Great story and wonderfully close shots of this beautiful bird Ron. Somewhat like that rare perfect golf shot that has you returning for more, an outing like this is all one would need to really set the hook.
Good analogy, Chuck. Sure glad I never had that perfect shot when I used to golf many years ago – maybe the sport would have hooked me and I wouldn’t be photographing birds now…
WOW! How exciting! I’ve never even seen an owl in the wild for years and years. I probably could not have held the camera. How in the world do you keep from spooking the bird with the truck motor noise?
Thanks for sharing a wonderful bird that I may never see!
Charlotte
Charlotte, Generally birds are much less afraid of a vehicle than they are of a human on foot. And my truck is actually quieter than most cars (always a consideration when I buy a new vehicle).
Guess I need to buy a quiet truck and get rid of my car!
Charlotte