This male Short-eared Owl was as set in his ways as I am and that’s saying something. In June of 2010 I photographed him for most of a week as he delivered voles to his family in a nest at the base of a sagebrush in Montana’s Centennial Valley. He had a routine worked out that he stuck to come hell or high water – a bird after my own heart.
I knew the approximate boundaries of his hunting territory because I watched him defend it many times against other owls (the following summer I documented some fighting male owls in precisely the same area – in fact one of them may have been this same bird).
1/2500/ f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
This was his routine which he repeated time and time again all week:
- he would fly off to hunt voles. He was a great hunter and I could see him diving to the ground after them from far away
- when he captured one he would always carry it in his talons and land with it on this ugly metal post perhaps 100′ from the nest
- while perched on the pole he would transfer the vole to his beak
- then he would fly off to the nest and deliver the vole to his mate and two chicks, as he’s doing in this photo
That routine almost never varied. I watched him deliver dozens of voles to the nest and only rarely did he fail to land on the pole first (a couple of times he landed on sagebrush first instead of the pole) or make the food transfer from talons to beak while perched there.
I have a theory as to why he transferred the meal to his beak before delivering it to the nest. His mate was extremely aggressive toward him when he got close to the nest with food so he would approach the nest on the ground with the vole in his beak, drop it in front of her and then quickly get the hell out of Dodge as she rushed him for the food. If the vole had been in his talons he’d have had a difficult time releasing it in a timely and safe manner before he beat his retreat. He was obviously afraid of her in those situations and I marveled at his paternal instinct that compelled him to feed his family despite the apparent danger (females are 20% larger than males).
I’ve posted other images of this male in the past but this one is new to my blog. Long-time readers may recall that early in my blogging career I despised any sign of the “hand of man” in my images and this metal post certainly fits that description so I always skipped over this image. But over the years, largely due to the influence of some of my readers, I’ve become more tolerant of some unnatural elements in my photos. And last night while I was reviewing some older images (after an incredible storm that blew through the valley, caused lots of damage and knocked out my power thus putting me behind the 8-ball for this post) I encountered this shot and the memories came flooding back.
My experience with this owl family was one of the highlights of my bird photography career so I decided to go with this image for today’s post. I hope you enjoy it.
Ron
Back to the equipment you use, your pictures are so clear, just like your standing beside them. The telecom verter, do you have any pros or cons on it? I’ve been considering one and have receive so many different views, I wanted to ask yours, the main reason, is your pictures cannot be beat.
Steven, The “pros” are obvious – more magnification and detail.
The cons include having to swap the tc out when the bird’s too close and potential loss of some image quality with lower quality lenses. The tc also slows down the speed of the lens to some degree.
That said if you’re using a high quality lens to begin with the advantages of the 1.4 tc typically far outweigh the disadvantages. I see no loss of IQ when using it with my 500 and very little with the 100-400. 80-90% of my shots are taken using the 1.4.
Personally I never use a 2.0 tc – IQ is just degraded too much.
I agree with the first comment by Len. I usually don’t comment, but love the images and commentary. It’s nice to know the story behind the photo.
I also agree with you about some photographers using too much over processing and saturation in their photos. To me, I think a wonderful photograph is one that uses limited post-processing techniques and is as close to a natural photo as possible.
Hi Ron, I don’t always leave a reply but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy your post. The photography is exceptional but what makes your blog special is your commentary. Together it is informational, entertaining and beautiful. Manny thanks for the time you spend on it. You are never to verbose!
Len
Ron: If Ansel Adams were alive and photographing today, I believe he would be a Photoshop expert. Nature competition is one thing, but other than that, why not just remove the post?
“why not just remove the post?”
Richard, I wouldn’t remove the post for several reasons but the main one is the fact that with this flight posture (including leg position and tail position) it’s obvious that the owl had just taken off from an elevated perch that should still be in the photo so the image screams for the perch that it just left. If I cloned out the post the eyes of many folks (especially those even remotely familiar with bird flight dynamics) would spend as much time looking for the nonexistent perch as they would enjoying the bird.
And some pixel-peepers (not regular readers of course) would spend even more time looking for tell-tale imperfections in my cloning job…
I agree with you that if Adams were alive today he’d be a Photoshop expert – you pretty much have to be to excel in digital photography. But I believe he’d use PS in much the same way as he used his darkroom, to dodge and burn and “fine tune” his images subtly, not oversaturate or clone them to death as so many photographers do today. Just my opinion…
I love the coloring of this owl. Thank you. And the storytelling is a gift. As we’ve said before, more text, fella. 😀 Your photos are fabulous. Your education/story/sharing–that’s what puts your blog over the top for me.
Ron, I will send you by snail a piece by Helen Macdonald of H is for Hawk about watching wild peregrines hunt feral pigeons at an abandoned power plant in Dublin. Her writing is lyrical and makes a point that these wild birds are in a wild place in a natural setting at least for the 21st century, It made me very grateful to see birds wherever I can, on the trees in our yard but also on the telephone poles around our house.. I hope you enjoy her writing as much as I enjoyed yours describing the fear of the male SEOW approaching the nest.
I love this photo and the story behind it. I love how dedicated owls are to their little family. The male works so hard and he hardly gets a chance to see his owlets, just a glance when he drops off food. Thanks Ron.
If it works – do it!. And the owl had no need to ‘build a better vole trap’ (says another slave to routine).
Every picture tells a thousand words (and some of yours many thousands). Your words add background to the images, and are never, ever too much.
You are never too verbose, Ron! You write from the heart, its always a fascinating read, and educational. Thank you for sharing the beauty you encounter! : =)
Some men could take a lesson from Father Short-eared. If I’m cooped up in a nest with a bunch of kids who are never full, buddy, you’d better drop that mouse and get right back to work. A mom in that situation can get mighty testy. Your post reminds me of how much we share with the other animals in this world. Thank you, Ron!
“Your post reminds me of how much we share with the other animals in this world”
So true, Mikal. So very true!
I love this story. How can one not admire this bird? He is obviously very intelligent and has great survival instincts. It’s interesting to learn that humans are not the only ones with unpleasant mates…
Susan, That female did seem to be pretty grumpy most of the time, especially considering how hard the male was working for her and the chicks. Isn’t nature interesting?
Your post are always interesting, Ron. Even at 30,000 feet.
nr
Thanks, Neil. Have a great trip!
LOVED this capture, Ron & thoroughly enjoyed your story about this Dad owl as a provider! Can’t begin to tell you how much I enjoy your blog. your photos mean so much more by hearing your thoughts & feelings behind them!!
I appreciate the feedback, Jo Ann. Sometimes I think I’m a little too verbose…