![\"barn](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/barn-owl-8253-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n1\/1600, f\/5.6, ISO 640, Canon 7D, 100-400 @400mm, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n I’ve seen a few of these owls flying this winter but didn’t have much to show for it and these shots aren’t of great image quality either but I sure liked the behavior.\u00a0 Here the bird (likely a male) has pounced on prey in the deep snow.\u00a0 As always, I presumed the prey was a vole.\u00a0 It maintained this position for a few moments, apparently as it dealt with the prey with its feet.<\/p>\n The perspective is a little different here.\u00a0 I’m looking down on the bird at a fairly sharp angle and because of a steep slope directly in front of the owl I had to stretch awkwardly in my pickup seat to get the lens high up against the top of my window to see even this much of the bird.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1250, f\/5.6, ISO 640, Canon 7D, 100-400 @320mm, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Then the owl plunged its head deep into the snow…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1600, f\/5.6, ISO 640, Canon 7D, 100-400 @330mm, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n but came up empty the first time.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1250, f\/5.6, ISO 640, Canon 7D, 100-400 @330mm, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n It tried again and this time – success!\u00a0 And a surprise.\u00a0 It wasn’t a vole, but a mouse (white belly, bigger ears, longer tail).\u00a0\u00a0 Most places I shoot have mostly voles but I’ve photographed kestrels with mice at Farmington before (in fact once, on a nature photography critique forum\u00a0it was publicly insinuated that I had baited the kestrel with the mouse –\u00a0I hadn’t.\u00a0 That’s one reason I always make it clear that I don’t bait).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1250, f\/5.6, ISO 640, Canon 7D, 100-400 @330mm, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Barn Owls are quick in downing their prey and this one was no exception.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2000, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D, 100-400 @190mm, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Then it took off and hunted some more.\u00a0 Here you can more clearly see the snow bank in front of the bird that I was dealing with.<\/p>\n This owl was hunting very successfully.\u00a0 I saw him\u00a0capture 3 (possibly 4) voles\/mice in the time I spent with him.\u00a0 Though the snow is thick it’s not crusted over (for now) and this bird had no trouble finding prey.\u00a0 I’ll post more images of this bird in the future.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I live in the suburbs and it’s unusual for me to see raptors in my neighborhood but\u00a0two days ago\u00a0there was a Rough-legged Hawk just up the street from my\u00a0home.\u00a0 Then yesterday, just before arriving home from this trip, there was a Cooper’s Hawk in a tree behind my house.\u00a0 And lo and behold, guess what was in my own yard\u00a0as I pulled into my driveway…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/100, f\/7.1, ISO 640, Canon 7D, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Rather than a partridge in a pear tree it was an eagle in an elm tree.\u00a0 My elm tree!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I just now looked outside (5:21 AM) and the bird is still there.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/100, f\/9, ISO 500, Canon 7D, 17mm, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Here’s a different perspective from yesterday afternoon.\u00a0 \u00a0In the 25 years I’ve lived\u00a0here I’ve only seen a Bald Eagle perched in my neighborhood once before.<\/p>\n Seeing this bird was particularly poignant for me because there’s a mysterious malady killing\u00a0Bald Eagles in Utah – as of now at least\u00a013 have died after showing symptoms of head tremors, lower extremity paralysis and digestive problems.\u00a0\u00a0Necropsy results should be available soon after Christmas.\u00a0 I sure hope it’s easily dealt with and isn’t contagious.\u00a0 If it is contagious our eagles could be in big trouble when they mass in very large numbers in January and February on the marshes of the Great Salt Lake as they feed on carp.\u00a0 (more here<\/a> if you’re interested)<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Yesterday was chock full of avian surprises!<\/p>\n It was overcast and gloomy the entire day, the kind of day we normally stay home, but in an effort to relieve cabin fever we finally broke down and left for Farmington at midday. While there we didn’t see many birds and almost left for home after one tour of the area but at the last minute decided to do another. That’s when this cooperative Barn Owl came into play.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n