Barn Owls and Phragmites
Barn Owls are among my favorite avian subjects. They’re uncommon, elusive and rarely active in daytime so they’re devilishly difficult to photograph in good light – especially in flight. And they’re unique – so different from other owl species (heart-shaped facial disc, smaller eyes, a short squared tail and serrated central claws) that they’re given their own family classification – Tytonidae. They’re the most wide-spread species of owl on earth, though their numbers are declining. Occasionally, very occasionally, I’ve had the opportunity to photograph them in daylight. Around here they can sometimes be found hunting for voles at the edge of Phragmites stands at the local marshes during the early mornings of the coldest days of winter. Phragmites is a very large perennial grass found in our wetlands that causes many problems for wetlands managers because it produces substances that are toxic to more beneficial species of marsh plants. 1/2000, f/8, ISO 400 1.4 tc As problematic as Phragmites can be I’ve found it to be a wonderful background for photographs of birds in flight. And since these owls fly during daytime only when it’s very cold the Phragmites is often covered with heavy frost in the mornings which can soften the background and make it very pleasing to the eye. If the grasses are close to the bird they appear fairly well-defined. 1/2000, f/8, ISO 400 1.4 tc But if they’re far away the bokeh of the background is softened even more, giving relatively subtle hints of texture and form. I think the sharper foreground phrags in this photo…