Long-Eared Owl, Leslie Spit

[dbellilo]

No jokes! There was some kind of camera club in front of me, 7 men in the woods and the snow with long white lenses snap snap snapping up the owl 12 ft in front of us. I did the best I could under the circumstances, being pushed and shoved out of the way with my little lens. How emasculating! Regardless of the pics and the bedlam going on in front of me, I was delighted to observe an owl, my very first!
All the best,
David B.

[mr.sharp-photo]

i thought about going to the Spit today.
amazing lighting, but man, that wind chill told me to go back to bed and not be stupid.
brave you!
and great pictures

p.s. - if you want to avoid the photographer crowd, you seriously have to start your walk at 8 AM.

[dbellilo]

Thanks, Richard. I know you're right...I was there by 10 and the place was lousy with photographers, even in that wind. Well, in the woodsier parts there wasn't much wind, but the folks in the camera club were CRAZY!

[denis]

congrats on your first owl,david.
these guys are hard to get out in the open.

[dbellilo]

Thanks, Denis! One of the most enjoyable (and hopeful) things about this birdwatching business is that there is always something new to look forward to, there are always new photographic goals, etc.

[Howieh]

Well done David! I can't believe the eyes in the second shot (in case anyone hadn't noticed)! Btw, for people who are aren't that familiar with the spit it's usually easier to look for photographers to tell you where the interesting birds are. Did the owl seem agitated by the crowd?

[dbellilo]

Howieh! The owl at first seemed rather spooked by all the tromping of heavy-footed men in camouflage and was flying around quite a bit. After a little while he settled onto a low branch and all the photographers knelt before him, the closest one being 10 ft. away. The owl seemed content to just sit there and turn his head from one side to another. I stood behind the nusto gang and watched the owl for about 10 minutes, but the photography scene was too much for me and my birdwife to handle and so we got out of there, leaving the camera club to take hundreds more continuous exposures of an owl that was staying almost still on a branch...my b.w. remarked "I think that long-ear likes the sound of clicking - it soothes him, I think." Well, who knows? But you're quite right about asking photographers where the good birds are at. One nice gentleman with binoculars asked me if I knew where the redpolls were, and I told him where I'd last seen them...

[dbellilo]

Speaking of those eyes, I've made a little inset here, to further display the crazily disparate pupils! Please forgive the poor image quality - this is heavily cropped and I have only a little lens! I fear I am now addicted to owls...I haven't been able to spot my kestrel lately, so now I must search high and low for owls of every sort...I think a number of you folks have been to Mountsberg and have spoken very highly of the place...

[Howieh]

Your "little lens" did just fine, love the crop! You could try applying a little sharpening but it's probably not necessary; and yes, owl addiction can cause people to do funny things, like walking miles (sorry, that should read kilometers!) in bitter cold weather, etc. so be careful out there

[Whittam]

Beautiful shots!  Well done!  Cheers Terry

[kokanee]

Great shots, thanks for sharing!
Mar

[dbellilo]

Thanks, folks! Let's keep sharing owls, feeding each other's addictions, etc.

[Luv2Bird]

Fabulous capture of the difference in pupil size as a result of the lighting. Very nice shot!

[feathered]

Stunning! The eye shot is really neat. I really need to get down to the Spit sometime.

[Vince]

Great pics David. I have many of this owl but none as open and bright as these.
Great capture