![\"barn](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/barn-owl-9190-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\nI had my second opportunity of the season with a Barn Owl in flight yesterday morning at Bear River MBR.<\/p>\n
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1\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n The owl was hunting the phragmites edges and wasn’t shy about occasionally approaching my pickup as it did so. It was 11\u00b0 F. as I entered the refuge just after dawn and there was still snow on the ground so a few of these birds are still hunting during daylight, though this was the only Barn Owl I saw the entire morning.\u00a0Many of my photos of this bird have blue sky in the background but here the backdrop is the snow-covered and partially shaded Promontory Mountains.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Here’s another background I like – largely because of the layers of blue water, out of focus phragmites, snow and\u00a0wispy plant stems at bottom. I also enjoy the morning light on the bird,\u00a0the flight posture and the almost 3-dimensional quality of the image. As is common with Barn Owls in flight there’s no catch light in the eye.\u00a0Their eyes are so deeply set that it’s difficult for light to reach them.<\/p>\n Birds were generally slow on the refuge but I really enjoyed the morning. It was cold, quiet and beautiful and in 3 hours and 2 tours of the loop road I didn’t encounter another vehicle or person.<\/p>\n It doesn’t get much better than that.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I had my second opportunity of the season with a Barn Owl in flight yesterday morning at Bear River MBR.<\/p>\n![\"barn](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/barn-owl-9283b-ron-dudley.jpg\")
1\/2000, f\/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n