Many species just don’t look good in very low light but I think Short-eared Owls can be an exception, probably because their contrasting markings make them stand out so well.
1/640, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in
I photographed this handsome owl in the summer of 2016 in southwest Montana near the Continental Divide. It was early morning and though the sun had recently risen the bird was in deep shade from a nearby mountain. As you can see from my camera settings I was struggling for shutter speed and I was worried about depth of field but I was close to the owl so I removed my teleconverter which helped with both potential issues.
I was surprised by how unconcerned the owl was with my presence. I think the fact that it was in deep shade made the bird feel more safe so it went about its business which at the moment was searching for breakfast. Just before this photo was taken the owl had been scouring the pile of twigs at lower left for potential prey.
- Notice the fine fringing at the end of the wing primaries that allows owls their trademark silent flight.
1/800, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in
When the owl eventually took off it did so away from me but I was so close I had no chance to avoid cutting off body parts anyway.
But it didn’t go far.
1/320, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm + EF 1.4 III Extender, f/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in
It only flew a few feet and landed on a slightly elevated perch to hunt some more. But I’ve always been disappointed that it landed so close to the human debris at lower left (I can’t remember what it was but it’s ugly).
The owl seems to be looking on in disapproval too.
Ron
The white outlining the face always seems to glow, perhaps it is the dark contrast with the eye area. I miss them!
These owls really have a prrsonality. Love them. Great shots, tac sharp.
What a beauty, very handsome indeed. The fringing on the flight feathers really shows well here, wonderful series Ron. I was lucky enough to have a great horned owl swoop in for an attempted kill only twenty feet from me in the predawn darkness, couldn’t hear it at all. And I can still hear pretty well, relatively speaking of course.
Wow, your experience with that owl is something I’d LOVE to experience some day. I’d never forget it, that’s for sure. Thanks for relating the story, Dave.
Ron, great photos. This owl looks so innocent with those big, beautiful eyes. It has to kill to survive. Thank you
Thank you, Alice.
Such a gorgeous bird, and you captured it well. Love the shots!
Thanks, Jean.
Ron,
“Disapproval too.” I love the emotions you give to your birds. I’ve said it before but I am glad I am not the only one that interprets them that way sometimes…
Nice shot even in low light.
Stephen
“I love the emotions you give to your birds.”
Thanks for that, Stephen. Some cringe when I do that but… so be it.
Besides I deliberately gave myself some wiggle room by saying “the owl “seems” to be looking on in disapproval”. I didn’t actually state that it was. I just said that it looks like it was and I think it does.
I got a kick out of the second photo; the tail reminds me of some old drawing with tux coattails flying behind. The eyes are just breathtaking in the first photo
Saw my first Short-eared Owl yesterday “hunting in full daylight” as Dan Gleason says, over what we call the Skagit Flats in NW Washington.
Lyle, I often see them hunting in daylight, both here in Utah and in Montana. Sometimes it’s near midday too.
I love to watch Short-eared Owls hunting low over a field. They are mostly a winter species for us here west of the Cascades and best seen at dawn and dusk, but frequently they can be seen hunting in full daylight.
The fringe along the edge of the primaries does help with silent flight, it begins to break up the air coming over the wing, but in itself is not the reason. When that fringe has been experimentally removed from owls, they still fly silently. I can’t take the space here for a full explanation, but the softness of the feathers plays a role (compare an owl feather to the stiffness of a goose feather, for example). Additionally, the upper wing coverts can slide across each other (something prevented from happening in other birds). All the features of an owl’s wing help to break up the air flowing over it and the result is silent flight. The trade-off is that this makes flight less efficient. Most owls are not long-distant migrants and move in short hops, not one long migratory flight. An exception is the Flammulated Owl which goes to Mexico for the winter. It has stiffer wings and does not fly silently. This owl is also an insect-eater and does not depend upon silent flight to locate its prey. Silent flight in other owls means that they don’t have to hear their own wings and can focus instead on sounds coming from below.
Dan, I thought about going into some more info about other contributing factors to silent flight besides fringed feathers – probably should have. But you did a more thorough job than I could have so thank you for that!
Beautiful 🙂 – it is amazing how well they show up in the low light.. Love the take off even if parts were cut off – the lighter, less “camouflaged” areas are also beautiful with soft feathers and it’s “britches” are showing. 🙂 Looks like the top end of a metal fence post to me in the last photo. Have a strange GHO thing going on – a female with a VERY fast series of hoots and another unknown that more shrieks and whistles(sounds we normally hear in the summer when the juveniles are out following the adults) – haven’t laid eyes on them. We recently found out that the hail storms in early summer took out 4 of them upstream where they’ve nested the last couple of years (age/sex unknown as I haven’t seen the location/remains). “Curious” and hope to see them.
I thought it looked more like a downed metal fencepost than anything else too, Judy.
So sad about your owls and the storm. I always feet terrible for birds during hailstorms. I once saw large flocks of shorebirds being pummeled by serious hail at Red Rock Lakes NWR. They all panicked but as far as I know none of them were seriously injured.
Low light didn’t prevent you from creating a superb photograph of a stunning owl!
I see occasional reports of Short-eared Owls in Florida but have never been privileged to see one.
Thank you for sharing “yours”, Ron!
Thank you, Wally. Hope you get to see one or more some day.
Just have to love that face! I don’t believe anything escapes from those eyes. He certainly is disapproving. That curtain of out of focus greenery behind him is a great backdrop for him. The short ears have not made their return here yet but are at the grasslands in central WI. Each time I’m out I say perhaps today… A few snowy owls have been spotted in a few areas here in NE WI. though.
I agree, Kathy – that background partially makes up for the debris at bottom left. Only partially though…
They surely do show up well in low light. What beautiful colors and those eyes. I have never had the pleasure of seeing one in the wild. Our human debris can sure look ugly when it shows up in a natural setting like that. We have a couple days each year where groups of volunteers go out and clean up around our creeks and lakes.
Good for your volunteers, Everett! Sadly it’s a never-ending task.