Two great horned owlets sit side by side on a tree branch. Both have yet to fledge and are awaiting food from a parent. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 640. Evaluative metering 0 EV: 1/400 sec. at f/8
I photographed these two great-horned owlets this past weekend, as they cuddled up together on a branch. They had not fledged, making them easy to find close to their nest. Both parents were still around (as was a third sibling), performing the duties of food gathering for their new brood. Occasionally, the left most owl would become unsettled, and scoot closer to the other, even though his body was already pressed up tight against its sibling. Just as the owl on the right was drifting off to sleep, here comes his brother (or sister), snuggling up close.
After a few minutes, the alert owl decided that it wasn’t time for sleeping, but for a grooming session. With that, he began to lick the other owl’s feathers, rearranging them just so.
While sitting side-by-side, one owlet begins to groom its sibling. Neither owlets have fledged. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 400. Evaluative metering 0 EV: 1/250 sec. at f/8
This continued for quite a while, and I eventually left to see what else I could find. When I returned to the owls, it looked as though the sleepy owl had left and found a quieter place to roost, leaving the alert owl to sit and stare at the world.
A young great-horned owl that has yet to fledge perches on a tree branch, awaiting food from a parent. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 500. Evaluative metering +1/3 EV: 1/400 sec. at f/8
I was lucky that these young owls had not yet learned to fly. While they’ll still remain dependent on their parents after fledging, they will be much harder to find among the many trees in the area.
Clutching the remains of a fish he caught, an osprey takes off out of a nest after he delivered dinner to his nesting mate, Mono Lake, CA. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 1600. Evaluative metering 0 EV: 1/320 sec. at f/5.6
Last week I took a photography trip to the eastern Sierra to capture some spring time action over there. I went with a photographer friend to the south end of Mono Lake in hopes of a great sunset. Unfortunately, the skies were clear and the light was flat. Instead of a lasting sunset glow, it was as if someone just turned out the lights.
Fortunately, there were two pairs of osprey nesting near the shore in large nests built on top of two tufa towers. Just before dusk, the males came in close to the nests with fresh-caught fish. We had a brief show during which they perched on nearby tufa towers, enjoying their dinner, before they returned to the nests to deliver what was left to their respective mates.
An osprey clutches the remains of a fish in its talon as it perches on top of a tufa tower, Mono Lake, CA
During this time, the sun set and the light left. However, just before it got completely dark, I managed to get a shot of one of the males leaving the nest with the rest of the fish dinner. Because the sun was well over the horizon, it back lit the birds. I knew I could not get enough detail on the birds, so I underexposed and went with a full silhouette, emphasizing the graphical shape of the osprey taking off.
After perching in the wrong spot, a red-shouldered hawk is dive-bombed by a white-tailed kite. Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1/3: 1/4000 sec. at f/7.1
Occasionally raptors invade each others personal space, be it to encroach on their hunting ground or perch too close to a nest. They can engage in aerial battles, sometimes in dramatic fashion. Such was the scene I witnessed recently when a red-shouldered hawk perched on a tree, and a white-tailed kite didn’t like it very much.
I was alerted to the commotion by the screams of the kite, as it dive-bombed the hawk to drive it away from its perch. I was hand-holding my 100-400mm zoom lens at the moment, so I turned and ran straight toward the group of trees in order to get in better range. I didn’t worry about sneaking, because I figured both birds were probably too preoccupied to care about my approach.
After perching in the wrong spot, a red-shouldered hawk is dive-bombed by a white-tailed kite. Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1/3: 1/3200 sec. at f/7.1
The kite swooped down on the hawk about five or six times, each dive causing the hawk to fly straight up and wheel over upside down to avoid the kite (who was quite a bit smaller than the hawk). Finally, the hawk gave up the flew away over the horizon. The kite also disappeared from view, presumably to return to a nearby nest or favorite perch. As soon as the commotion began, all other birds in the area disappeared to let these two birds of prey battle it out alone. After the fight was over, the entire forest was eerily quiet.
I have been working for this shot for quite some time. It was a personal mission of mine in the second half of 2010 to find and photograph a burrowing owl. I knew there were many living in the Bay Area, particularly the south bay, but finding one proved to be more difficult than I thought. A dozen or so scouting trips to Mountain View (which has produced good numbers in previous years) yielded nothing. Finally in December, thanks to a hot tip by Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society (SCVAS) Executive Director Bob Power (thanks Bob!), I found the one pictured here, at the edge of Shoreline Golf Links.
A burrowing owl stares out from its burrow, eyes barely above ground. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 1000. Evaluative metering +1: 1/160 sec. at f/5.6
After scouring the area of the reported sighting for a while, I finally saw him barely peeking his head up out of his burrow. It was then I realized why I never found one before – to the naked eye, the burrow and owl looked like just another pockmark in the grass, or at best a small gofer hole. The owl’s head looked like a clump of dirt. It was only when looking through my largest lens that I could resolve two yellow eyes staring back at me.
I skirted the burrow to give it a wide birth, and set up slightly behind a small tree, so as to break up my form. With all my movement, I definitely had the attention of the owl, and I wanted to see if he’d settle down once he realized I wasn’t an immediate threat. My tripod was set up with the legs fully retracted and splayed out, so that the lens was only about a foot off the ground. Then I sat down behind my camera and made myself comfortable, knowing it could be a long wait.
The obligatory burrowing owl standing straight-on shot! Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 1000. Evaluative metering +1: 1/160 sec. at f/5.6
After about 5 minutes, I could tell the owl was relaxing, as he had stopped staring at me, and was now swiveling his head back and forth, presumably looking out for predators. I was hopeful, as I really wanted him to feel comfortable enough to pop out of his burrow and into the open, as those photos would be much better than just a head in a hole! Finally, after about 20 more minutes, he did just that, and I was able to capture the photos you see here.
A burrowing owl stands on a small berm overlooking its burrow. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 1600. Evaluative metering +1: 1/250 sec. at f/5.6
After a few minutes of posing, he flew a short distance away. This was followed by more head swiveling, until finally he left altogether. Satisfied with my session, I packed up and headed home, happy to have finally accomplished this goal.
On a technical note, I have to recognize how amazing the Canon 7D is in terms of low noise. Some of these shots were taken at ISO 1600 – with proper noise reduction in post processing, they print beautifully. In addition, the 4-stop image stabilization in the EF 800L lens is hard to beat. Even shots as slow as 1/160 seconds came out razor sharp!
