A Short-eared Owl Flying Right At Me

I think this owl might have been trying to intimidate me or maybe he was just curious about my pickup. Either way he sure did come in close.

I posted other photos of this bird last summer but all of these images are new to my blog.

 

short-eared owl 0486b ron dudley

1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

I encountered him (I believe it’s a male) along a rural and fairly remote road this past summer near Howell, Utah. He was hunting the agricultural fields along a fence line and would sometimes perch on one of the posts. There was occasional traffic on the road but he seemed to ignore it and me most of the time. But suddenly and with no apparent reason his demeanor changed and he stared me down for a few moments before…

 

 

short-eared owl 0505b ron dudley

1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

launching in my direction. I fired off a long burst as he approached and hoped that my focus points would stay locked on to the bird. I got 29 shots as he came at me but as you might expect some were sharper than others. The following three images are sequential shots in the burst. The first one isn’t very sharp but I wanted to show the varying wing positions in 3 tenths of a second.

 

 

short-eared owl 0515b ron dudley

1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

Soon he was so close I couldn’t get the entire bird in the frame so I did some creative cropping with most of these images.

 

 

short-eared owl 0516b ron dudley

1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

This is the sharpest shot of the bunch. In my experience focus points often have a difficult time following a bird approaching at this angle and this fast.

 

 

short-eared owl 0517b ron dudley

1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

Soon after this shot was taken I lost focus on the owl and after that he veered away from me but I estimate that he was within 10-15 feet of my pickup when he did so. I’ve photographed Short-eared Owls many times over the years but never have I had an experience like this one. His motivation may have been curiosity or intimidation or something else. I just don’t know…

One of my strongest memories of the encounter was the absolute silence as this large bird flew in so close that I almost felt I could have reached out my window and touched him. It was a wonderful demonstration of the silent flight of owls.

Ron

Note: Many (if not most) images of an owl flying directly at the photographer have been baited, often with store-bought mice. I want to emphasize that this owl was not baited or set up in any way.

38 Comments

  1. BREATHTAKING!!

  2. Interesting it was so fixed on you Ron. Maybe it saw a reflection in your camera lens. Beautiful Owl. The Claws are amazing. Glad I am not a Vole.

  3. Wow Ron – this series just blows my mind. It must have been so exhilarating as you took all the shots while that face got closer and closer!! My heart would have been beating a mile a minute!!

  4. Can’t help but wonder what this owl might think of the very top of a trump…and what he/she might fly off with….a real wonderment…..

  5. EPIC shots Ron. I am so proud of the photographers who haven’t compromised their ethics to capture their images. It is a rare moment indeed to catch an owl in flight directly at you. But this shows it can be done with patience and persistence.

  6. Based on my recent experience with a Great Horned Owl that became apparently unhappy with our presence (even though we were at a good distance from it, maybe 40-50 yards or more), I would not be surprised if this guy was not happy with your presence. In our case the bird was okay with us for a while, but then there was a sudden change in mood, and all we were doing was standing there taking pictures. The minute we noticed the mood change we left the area. This was a good lesson in paying attention to bird moods. These are great photos. I’m glad you were in your pickup when the Owl flew at you, because I’ve heard that they can do great damage when they are not happy with you… I’m sure this was an amazing experience for you.

    • “I would not be surprised if this guy was not happy with your presence”

      Could be, Susan. He sure didn’t show any signs of it before he flew in my direction though. Just goes to show that it can be hard to tell…

      “I’ve heard that they can do great damage when they are not happy with you”

      Interesting. The only owl that I’ve heard of that occasionally actually attacks (physical contact) humans is the Great Horned Owl. But just because I haven’t heard of it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.

  7. The intensity of that gaze…it’s just amazing. How fun for you!

  8. Nice! This also demonstrates that owls are not strictly nocturnal like many people think. Great horned owls are sometimes active in the daylight hours as well. For that matter, northern owls like the snowy owl and northern hawk owl are primarily diurnal raptors. This may be ab adaptation for survival during the summer months of the far north where there is no darkness.

    Diurnal owls, such as the northern pygmy and hawk owl, also do not fly silently like the typically nocturnal species because they lack the thick velvety pile on the flight feathers that helps deaden the sound. Silent flight is apparently more advantageous to nocturnal hunters. Pygmy owls also have a rapid, shrike like wing beat that can often be heard when the observer is in close proximity.

  9. WOW!!!! Whatever the motive, that is one GREAT shot! I did a small watercolor of an owl in a similar “pose” a couple of years ago, can’t remember what kind (spotted?) but don’t think it ever sold…thought it would go fast (might have been trying tmo sell it to to voles)…love the intensity and focus of the eyes….didn’t know they hunted in daylight……

  10. Lovely series, Ron! Interesting that this is one of the owls who hunts easily during the day. I’m curious why you think it’s a male? I’m not really familiar with this species in hand, and have no clue!

    • Sallie, Females are generally darker than males both dorsally and ventrally but there’s some overlap so they can’t reliably be sexed based on color. Females are also larger. I guessed this bird to be a male based on color and size but I’m certainly not sure of it.

  11. Deborah Rehnstrom

    Terrific photos! Thank you for sharing!!!

  12. Amazing shots Ron!

    Charlotte

  13. GREAT shots, Ron. 🙂 No, they usually don’t come toward you. I’ve had Great Horned swoop down fairly close in the yard – so close I heard the whoosh of wings and it give me a start – of course, it was dusk/dark at the time – think it may have been a young one still learning to navigate. The silence they fly with is amazing.

  14. Jorge H. Oliveira

    This is one of those ocasions I would prefer having a zoom rather than a prime.
    What a thrill.
    Great shots.

    • “This is one of those ocasions I would prefer having a zoom rather than a prime.”

      Good point, Jorge – although it would be difficult (at least for me) to back off on the zoom as this bird flew in so fast. Too many things to do in a very short amount of time…

  15. Wow! Great experience and images of the bird flying at the toughest angle for auto focus.

  16. FANTASTIC shots Ron!! And I would interpret that look as checking out your value as food OR what the heck are you doing in MY world? Wonderful shots and how cool that you were there at the right place at the right time with the camera equipment and the knowledge to use it. Outstanding!

  17. Fantastic shots Ron, just great!! I bet he was both interested in your truck and trying to intimidate you.
    I can still remember vividly the Short-eared I saw on a post at Lostwood in North Dakota!
    Wonderful Memories!

  18. I often search out Short-eared Owls (upstate NY) and in my wildest dreams, couldn’t get the wonderful pictures you have here. They’re almost too good to be true (but I know they are). Thank you for sharing such a wonderful story with accompanying pictures. That last photo is out of this world!!

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