A burrowing owl stands on rocky ground, looking at the camera. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3: 1/160 sec. at f/8.
This week’s photo features a popular favorite – the burrowing owl. This species exists throughout the Bay Area (if you know where to look), but every year their habitat is either destroyed or urbanized. Instead of living in a natural grassland habitat, they are now more often found on golf courses or other large landscaped areas (such as corporate campuses). Fortunately burrowing owl advocates tend to be passionate and active, which may yet give this species a fighting chance.
The burrowing owl is one of the more photographed species of owl in the Bay Area, mostly due to the fact that they are non-nocturnal, and burrow away from trees in more open areas. That is not to say they are easy to find, however. I’ve located an owl in its burrow with my long lens before, then looked up and was unable to locate it with my naked eye. Their camouflage is so good sometimes, that people almost step on them before they see them.
A burrowing owl portrait is captured against a white sky background. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3: 1/320 sec. at f/8, fill flash.
I found this owl in the Alviso area of San Jose. There were high overcast skies, which can be very good for bird photography. The shadows are softened so you can shoot all day. In the lower image I used a fill flash to introduce a catch-light to the bird’s eye. Neither images are cropped – a testament to the power of the 800mm lens.
A burrowing owl sits in its burrow surveying the surrounding area. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 200. Evaluative metering 0 EV: 1/500 sec. at f/8
I took this photo last week of a local burrowing owl, whose burrow I had discovered the week before when out scouting with a couple of local birders. Since the light was poor that day, I returned later to get the bird in the nice warm light of sunrise.
I found the owl sitting upright in the burrow, not crouched low as I’ve seen other owls. He seemed quite comfortable with my presence. He was situated on the edge of a golf course, and I was able to photograph him while standing on a paved road, so I’m guessing that he is quite used to people being in the vicinity. I was careful not to approach too closely however, as the too much human contact with a burrow has been known to displace owls permanently. As much as I liked the lighting and the photos, he never did pop out of his hole, and I wanted to try to get photos of him up out of the ground.
A burrowing owl perches on a tree branch above its burrow at sunrise. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 500. Evaluative metering -2/3: 1/250 sec. at f/5.6
I returned two mornings later, this time a half hour earlier, so I could be there for day break. As I approached, I was excited to see the owl perched on a low branch of a nearby tree. I photographed the owl as the sun rose behind me, lighting the bird like a spotlight, while leaving the background dark. In order to compensate for a much brighter bird than the background, I had to dial down my exposure compensation to -2/3 of a stop, so as not to blow out the highlights of the owl.
In order to keep the ISO as low as possible, I opened up to the lens’ maximum aperture (5.6), knowing that with the owl’s fairly flat features, I could still get its entire face sharp at that depth of field. The shutter speed was just fast enough to photograph without needing to lock down the gimbal head of my tripod. However, because my subject wasn’t moving, I didn’t have to pan the lens with the bird, so I locked it down anyway, eliminating any chance of lens shake.
Soon after the photo above was taken, the sun rose higher in the sky and was casting small shadows into the owl’s large eyes. Sometimes the lighting is perfect for a given situation only for a few moments. While the owl was still in the tree at the time I left that morning, I knew it would only be a matter of time before it returned to its burrow for the day.
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!
A family of california ground squirrels lines up along a curb. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 1000. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/250 sec. at f/22
Byxbee Park (one of the local bird spots I visit occasionally) has seen a recent explosion in the california ground squirrel population. While I have always seen plenty of these squirrels running across the trails, or peeking their heads out of the tops of bushes, it has never been in these numbers. When this park was created from an old landfill conversion, small mounds were built to create habitat for these squirrels. I’m not sure what has caused the increase in population, but they have been thriving this fall and winter.
A healthy ground squirrel population is a sign of good things to come for birders (and bird photographers!) First and foremost, there have been an abundance of raptors, more than happy to contribute their part to squirrel population control. This park has always been a good place to see birds of prey in flight, but a high prey count can only help. Secondly, an increase in ground squirrels means an increase in burrows. The burrowing owl will take residence in existing homes (including those of the ground squirrel). While I have not seen any burrowing owls in this area yet, I am hopeful that one or two families might take up residence here. The main deterrent to burrowing owls here is that this park is also a popular dog walking area. Too often I see dog owners ignore all of the signs, and let their dogs roam off-lease, potentially disturbing sensitive habitat. For the burrowing owl, all we can do is wait and see.
