Christmas morning at Farmington was an “owly” experience for me – three birds, two species and a lifer. The lighting was poor all morning while I was there but you’ll never catch me complaining about a three owl day, light or no light.
1/1250, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Two of the three owls were Barn Owls – this is one of them. As is typical, this bird spent most of its time sleeping but one time it looked up and squinted at me and that was the best look I got at its eyes (almost none at all).
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
The second Barn Owl of the morning was largely hidden in the phragmites so I cropped pretty tightly on this bird in an attempt to minimize some of the clutter.
When they’re in this type of setting (as they often are) they’re almost impossible to spot and their tendency to be immobile adds to that dilemma. This short clip of the bird above should give you some idea of that but if you watch closely you’ll see some slight movement toward the end of the clip.
1/2000, f/5.6, ISO 1600, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
This Long-eared Owl was the highlight of the morning and that’s a true understatement as the bird was a lifer for me (Sibley lists them as “rare”) . It was perched near the 4-way bridge and seemed to be hunting from that low perch, possibly to get out of the stingingly cold breeze. At first I was concerned that the owl might be injured because four of the long primaries of its left wing were often in an unusual position, as you get a hint of in this image. But I saw this bird make two short flights that seemed normal and effortless and another photographer told me that he saw it make longer flights so it must have been ok.
This owl wasn’t sleeping but it seldom opened its eyes enough for them to be seen. It scanned the near and far banks of the pond for prey and occasionally made short flights for prey (presumably voles). I had one reasonably good opportunity to catch the bird in flight but I missed those shots through “operator error” (and no, I don’t want to talk about it…). In this clip you see those long ears (ear tufts) blowing in the breeze and the somewhat unusual position of some of the left wing primaries.
1/1250, f/6.3, ISO 1250, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Only once did the owl open its eyes enough to give a clear look at them, especially in this light. I believe it was looking at potential prey on the pond bank directly in front of it. This might be my favorite shot of the bird because of its open eyes and the fact that I had maneuvered my pickup to a position where I could get a patch of darker ice in the background where the wind had blown off the bright white snow.
Even though yesterday was Christmas Day and it’s my tradition to go shooting early on that holiday I almost didn’t venture out because of the clouds, snow and poor light but I’m sure glad I did.
One of my mantras is “you never know unless you go” and this time it paid off.
Ron
Note: A special thanks to Dennis Hammer, another photographer who was on this bird when we arrived (the place was deserted except for us). Dennis pointed out the Long-eared Owl as I drove over the bridge. We’d have probably spotted it anyway but many photographers would have been secretive about the owl and just hoped that we would go away. We appreciated his generosity and friendliness.
What a GORGEOUS bird! Never seen one of the Long Eared Owls before. 😀
Thanks Ron for sharing your beautiful gift from Christmas Day! Long-eared Owls are special encounters!
Wowed by these
Always a great day when you can get a lifer. Especially when it happens to be an owl. Congrats!!! 😀😄😊
Congrats on the lifer Ron…woot woot!! And you did an excellent job of capturing it in pictures. Excellent blurred background in all of your photos and for a gray day, good lighting on these pics I say. The video was a plus as it demonstrated for your readers how difficult that Barn Owl was to spot…good eyes 🙂
Posted my reply before adding a comment related to videos of birds.
I once took a long video of an American Bittern, but later deleted it because the bird never moved, not even a blink.
Great morning. Congrats on the lifer and what a lifer it was!
Congratulations on the lifer. I have not seen a Long-eared Owl. They do not occur in my part of Alaska. BTW, your current temps are much colder than ours.
We do not see Barn Owls or Long-eared Owls but we do get some other species that would probably make you jealous.
Wonderful to read this and see yr pucd
Thanks, Sandi.
Wow!!! I can barely imagine how excitied I would be to see that many owls in one place!!! It would be quite a hoot, that’s for darned sure!!!
OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWL!!!!!!! 😇
Yeeeeeeeeeees!
Whatsamadda for you, Rocky??? An whatsadamadda wit your fren, Ronnie Baby??? Jeeez! The two a youse!!!
Patty, this response got me laughing pretty hard. Given that the comment was really courtesy of my husband, who grew up in northern NJ, it’s just perfect. BTW, we have several inches of snow, and it’s still coming down (far west TX).
“It would be quite a hoot, that’s for darned sure!!!”
Patty, you and Dick are incorrigible!
Hey, Ron – think those two might be in cahoots??? (Please don’t blame me for this one or the last one – they are courtesy of my husband.)
Oh my. Oh my, oh my.
Thank you to you, to Mia and to Dennis. I am pretty certain I will never see this stunner in the flesh – and wouldn’t have spotted either owl if I had been there.
“and wouldn’t have spotted either owl if I had been there”
You never know, EC. And knowing you I suspect if you’d been there you’d have been looking very, very hard…
Very, very hard indeed. And when/if I did see them my mouth would have opened in wonder. And would have stayed open. Painting an attractive picture aren’t I?
Wonderful find, so happy you an Mia were able to see one. Your second surprise Christmas gift. Hope his wing is ok. Besides in a rehab situation, Farmington Bay is the only place I have seen long eared owls–like I said before– I love Farmington Bay in the winter because of the owls.
That bird was still there this morning, April, though I didn’t see any Barn Owls this time.
WOW! What a wonderful tale of great fortune, Ron.
When you left the hint on yesterdays comments, I never even considered a LEO. Very Cool!
Rare, but not uncommon, is how they are listed here in Utah. The LEOs I’ve been working with up here in the Northern Utah mountains were the first ever reported in Summit County, but I’m sure they have probably been here long before it was settled. Very elusive and likely to avoid detection most days.
…but out in the open? …on Christmas Day? Hard to believe Dennis beat you there. Peas in a pod, I guess.
Congratulations!
………except for that Operator thingy.
This appears to be a very young bird.
“Hard to believe Dennis beat you there”
I don’t believe he beat me by much, Neil. I was there right after dawn.
Interestingly, Dennis and I sometimes run into each other at a gas station in my neighborhood when we’re both fueling up to go shooting birds many miles away. Sometimes we end up at the same place. It’s always still dark when we do which speaks of our bird photography addiction I think.
Great images! Either it was darned cold or these owls had been inflated. Interesting comments, too. I always though owls were pretty solitary creatures except when they were raising their young…never knew they roosted in groups, especially such high numbers. Our temps here have been in the 50″s and 60’s—70 on Christmas Day! Ususally would have been in the 20’s or 30’s. The male Goldfinches at our feeders seem a little yellower than usual for this time of year…my imagination? A big storm supposedly on its way bringing snow and that dreaded “winter mix” then back to warm….weird!
“never knew they roosted in groups”
Patty, I just double-checked my memory – here’s what BNA Online has to say on the subject regarding Long-eared Owls:
“This species often roosts communally during the nonbreeding season; typical roosts contain 2 to 20 birds, but up to 100 have been reported”
I had no idea that Long-eared Owls were rare. We have three of them hanging out in the campground at Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site. They are such creatures of habit that they are always included in the monthly birding tour at the park. It only took me three years of trying to be able to see them. One of them may be a youngster – we’ve always been told there is a pair of them. I can’t believe I saw them before you saw your first one. I’m glad you did get to see one, and that your day was made special by Owls. Now that I’ve seen three different species of them in the wild, I’m beginning to understand why people are so fascinated by them.
“I had no idea that Long-eared Owls were rare”
Well they’ve sure been rare for me over the years, Susan – as in zilch.
That bird was still there this morning though I didn’t stop for it because of all the photographers there. I don’t do crowds well…
Ron, you are very lucky that the bird was out in the open. Trying to see them when they are in a multi-branched tree like a scrub oak is very difficult. Possible, once you know what you’re looking for, but very difficult even when you do.
Great photo’s – I love owls. Short eared almost looks like a small Great Horned. Glad the wing seems to be functional as it does look strange. I’ve had a few surprises looking at photo’s to find things I didn’t know were there! 🙂 Dennis has some fine work on his sight – glad he was generous in sharing his find with you. We’re at -5 this morning with a “breeze” brrrr!
Judy, I saw 7 degrees out on the causeway this morning. I thought it might be colder out there but I think the wind kept our low spots from getting as cold as they often do in this kind of weather.
We’re in a bit of a hole so need the wind to clear it out! 🙂 +25 this afternoon.
Oh My God, Ron – I’m also glad you ventured out for your annual Christmas Day camera clicking!! They are so beautiful and in their element we see them at their best. I also loved your two videos. Great day for Owling – for sure!! Did you try to go out today with those kind of temps – 11 degrees?!! Again – OMG!!!
I’m leaving in about 20 minutes to go shooting, Jo Ann. I seldom go on Saturdays because of the crowds but I just can’t resist these cold temps because it makes birds stickier. Right now we have clear skies (the moon is beautiful) and it’s 10 degrees and still dropping!
LOL!! Be sure to have plenty of coffee and chocolate donuts to keep you warm and spike your energy!! Looking forward to your captures!!
Looks like it was a great day Ron. That is very cool about the LEOW. Glad you were able to photograph it. That must have made your day and now you will be on the lookout for more of them.
I have a strange “relationship” with them… Each year they nest very close to my home, always in an old magpie nest in what we call a “bosque” ( a dense thicket of cottonwood, willow, Russian Olive, and Chinese Elms. Dense is the key attribute here. I see them each spring, and never see them for the rest of the year. When I do get to see them it is usually many at a time. I would say that of all birds I have seen, they are the most stealthy due to their ability to hide so well. If a branch behind them is leaning to the left, they lean to the left. They like to put themselves in front of branches, and avoid have clear openings behind them. Perhaps one day I will get to see one out in the open like you were able to. Hopefully they, along with the Barn Owls, survive these cold spells without too much struggle.
Thanks for the post, now I will be on the lookout more for LEOWs here… (I had given up 🙂 )
“When I do get to see them it is usually many at a time”
Ed, I think I read recently that they sometimes roost in groups of up to 100 birds. What an amazing sight that would be to see, through the branches or not!
Ron, yes I have seen a few images of ~ 10 of them together. Very neat images too, as they are a puzzle of “find all the owls”. The most I have seen together has been six. One time I thought they would be in a willow tree where I usually find them. I did not see any though. I took a photo of the tree anyway. When I was going through the photos at home on the computer I noticed there were three of them in the tree staring right at me! I had no idea when I was in the field. Makes me wonder how many I have walked right by — which is kind of neat.
Congrats! Great find and shots Ron!
Charlotte
Thank you, Charlotte.
Lighting be damned, theses shots are great to my eye!!
Long-ears have always been hard for me, although I have seen them, I have never been able to get a good shot of one. Around here in New England they tend to be in heavy evergreens.
The Barn Owl looks really cold – tough weather everyone is having!!
Thanks for sharing.
Dennis, Until yesterday I’d never even seen one, much less photographed one. It was a banner day for me, light or no light!
If those Barn Owls thought it was cold yesterday that was only a preview for today. As I type it’s 11 degrees F. here in the city and it’s usually 5-10 degrees colder out on the marshes. Looks like it’s going to be a tough winter for our owls.
Ron, whose Dennis?? VBG!