Shades of Galileo.
Readers already know that last weekend I had pretty good luck with Short-eared Owls in Utah’s west desert. Three days ago I posted some faraway flight shots of one of them and promised there’d be more Shortie photos coming soon where the owl was closer to me. I finally got those photos processed, so today’s the day.
1/5000, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
The owl, perched on a metal fence post, was much closer than the owls I posted three days ago but ‘he’ was strongly sidelit or even nearly backlit, depending on what direction he was turned on his perch. For most of the time I was with him he was hunting the tall grasses to the right so he was turned that direction, which kept his face in shade.
Here he’d turned nearly 180° on his perch, which finally lit up some of his face. I didn’t know it at the time but he turned this direction so he could fly to a faraway fencepost behind me and try his hunting luck from there.
1/4000, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
The first photo I got after he took off. This might be my favorite shot of the bunch.
Beginning with photo #1, these first six photos are sequential without any skips.
1/4000, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Since he was headed to another fence post far behind me, he seemed to be following the upper strand of barbed wire which I call “flying the wire”. That made me more than a little nervous because this owl was only a couple of hundred yards away from the strand of barbed wire I had to cut in order to free Galileo, the fledgling Short-eared Owl who had been snagged by barbed wire in June of 2016.
I can’t believe that was nine years ago.
With this owl so close to the wire, that thought gives me the willies. Thankfully, this time there were no nasty incidents but later today it’s my intention to check and see if the two heavy duty wire cutters are still under the back seat of my pickup.
1/5000, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
He continued to fly the wire but when his wings were up, I could crop to a composition I like that didn’t include…
1/5000, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
any of the wire.
1/5000, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
But it was still there and he was still following it.
In shots like this it can be difficult to tell where the owl is relative to the wire. Is he directly above it, on the far side of it or this side of it? Since the owl is sharp and the wire isn’t, that tells us that the owl and wire are in different planes, so he isn’t directly above the wire.
But is he on this side of the wire or on the other side. Can you tell?
1/5000, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Three shots in the burst later he passed behind the first fence post down the line. Now we know where he was relative to the wire.
I got quite a few more photos of him after this one but many of them are similar so I’ll leave most of them out.
1/4000, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
But six frames later he was still flying the wire, although by now he was lower and a little further behind it, which made the wire blurrier but gave him more room for his left wing on the downstroke.
1/3200, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Eventually he had to pass behind another fence post. I got a few more shots of him after this one but after that he was so far behind me I couldn’t keep him in my viewfinder with my lens pointed out my open pickup window.
Photographically, it was a good thing for me that he was flying the wire. If he’d turned a few degrees to his left I wouldn’t have had any light on his face or eye and if he’d turned a few degrees to his right he’d have been flying away from me.
I didn’t have much wiggle room but he stayed within the narrow parameters, thanks to “flying the wire”.
Ron
With ‘those’ memories I am sure your heart was in your mouth and am so very happy that this shortie flew the wire with panache and flair.
Thank you. And thank you again for saving Gallileo.
Thanks, EC. It took a team effort to save Galileo.
It did indeed take a team but your work was integral to that team.
I love the look on his face on the fencepost – almost “I know these sharp pointy things are here, I’ll stay away”. I’m partial to the 2nd in the flight series #3588, the first full downbeat – the light shining thru his wings is lovely. We’ll never know, but it’s kind of neat to think he might be related somehow to Galileo, coming from the same area, flying free for Galileo.
“it’s kind of neat to think he might be related somehow to Galileo”
It’s certainly possible, Carolyn – they could have even been siblings. Their life span is up to 12 – 13 years in the wild and it’s the same area where Galileo fledged.
Nice shots, so good to see them. I only saw them one trip but not on the next. Ron, remember the conversation I told you of the farmer/rancher I talked with out there? That is not his property but I talked with him about the problem of barbed wire with owls and wildlife in general. He has seen many deer snagged in the area in the wire. I talked with him about putting the metal reflective pieces on the wire, like at the Sage Grouse lek, for the owls to possibly see. He was not opposed and said he even had some. I wonder if and organization like Hawk Watch were to reach out to the property owner where the owls are and offer to hang the reflectors on the wire, if it could make a difference for the owls? I don’t know if DNR biologists would do it or contact the owner about having it done? To me it’s worth a try.
Yes, I remember, April. Interesting idea. I’ll bring it up with Nicki Wayment at HWI next time I see her. Or talk with her.
Memories of dear Galileo rekindled … fortunately, the horror of his entrapment is transformed by miracle of his rescue and rehabilitation. You are not just a great photographer but a great human being.❤️
These images are great, too … even with the “devil wire” in view, I do like #2 showing full extension of wings and talons, also #5 with muted background and wonderful light on the whole owl.
Chris, I have to remind myself that Galileo died a little over two years ago. Doesn’t seem real…
The introduction of barbed wire might have been good for keeping cattle and horses and sheep etc from wandering off, but was definitely bad for low flying birds. Freeing your friend Galileo was a special event for sure. Super photos. The more you look at these owls the more you realize how strange looking and unique they are,
Thanks, Everett. Shorties are special birds, that’s for sure.
I grimaced when I saw the wire as in the photo it’s hard to tell how close he was! Lovely sequence other than that! 🙂 Yes, I remember Galileo!
Thanks, Judy. Galileo is hard to forget.
Nice shots! Was that the same “Galileo” that ended up as a docent bird at Hawkwatch?
Yup, same bird.
It was on a Sunday and it was Father’s Day to boot (June 19, 2016), so the Ogden rehab facility (WRCNU) was closed. But Mike Shaw of HWI helped us get him in there anyway. That started the ball rolling, so after he was rehabbed (he had a wing injury from fighting the wire) he ended up with HWI as one of their avian “ambassadors”. They named him Galileo.
That’s nice to hear. I did not know that you were responsible for saving him.
Like Michael, I had a foreshadowing of the memory of Galileo
when the wire came into view, then relief when in shots #4 and #5,
it was gone, replaced by the lovely “limn” of bright light tracing the tops of Shorties wings…..what beauty…. I’m glad you had such a
good “shoot”– a fine reward for getting up SO EARLY !
Ha, you remember how early I got up that morning, Kris! Believe me, so do I, but it was worth it.
Wonderful series, Ron! I’m always impressed by the size of those wings!
Thanks, Diane. So am I.
Great shots – excellent use of your wiggle room. Gorgeous bird. Thanks.
Thank you, Burrdoo.
Wow! Thank you so much! Wonderful photos of a wonderful creature!
Glad you like them, Mary. Thanks.
Love these shortie pics. I an lucky to get any recognizable images. These are amazing.
Thanks very much, Tony.
“That made me more than a little nervous…”
Looking at the photos before reading your narrative, Galileo immediately popped into my mind. Like that second photo as well. Unusual capture of the pose, and the outstretched talons are revealing and give it a kinetic punch.
A morning dose of coffee and raptor. Now I can start my day.
Michael, I was thinking of Galileo for much of the time I spent photographing owls that morning – same species and same area. The incident with that little innocent guy had quite an impact on me, which lasts to this day.