<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This bird was hunting from a metal fence post that was very close to the road (and to me). I fired\u00a0 off a few quick\u00a0frame-filling shots with my teleconverter\u00a0attached (I should have changed my aperture for more depth of field) with the intention of removing my tc at the first opportunity. But the owl never gave me that chance.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Almost immediately it began to focus intently on something in the grass between it and me. I was hesitant to remove my tc because I was afraid I’d miss the takeoff after prey\u00a0while I was doing it\u00a0but on the other hand I knew I’d clip or cut off wings if I didn’t. A dilemma…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Several times the bird “twitched” like this, as if it was about to launch but each time it relaxed again and just watched that spot in the grass intently. The tension was truly palpable as I watched through the viewfinder with my finger on the “trigger”. I was probably doing a little twitching myself…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Finally the owl launched after the vole but as it took off I cut off wings…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n in every shot.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This is the one that really broke my heart. The owls I photographed that morning often took off at this interesting tail-up angle because their intended prey was so close to them as they hunted from the low posts.<\/p>\n The owl didn’t catch a vole on this attempt.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n But six minutes later it tried again and though this attempt was also unsuccessful I was able to photograph it as it came up out of the grasses with only debris in its right foot.<\/p>\n On this morning I watched several owls dive on prey and each time they missed. In one study of hunting Short-eared Owls, “of 628 foraging attempts, 70.1% unsuccessful, 20.7% successful, and 8.1% unknown”.<\/p>\n That tells me that they typically have to work very hard for a meal.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n On an unrelated note for aficionados of Antelope Island and its resident bison herd, the calves have arrived!<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I photographed part of the herd yesterday morning\u00a0from about 3\/4 of a\u00a0mile away and over a dozen very young calves can be seen in the image.<\/em><\/p>\n It’s amazing how different the behavior\u00a0of the herd is when they have newborns. Normally these animals have no fear of vehicles or humans but as far away as these bison were, as soon as they saw my pickup they turned tail en masse\u00a0and\u00a0walked further away and higher up the mountain. I have no doubt that it was in reaction to my vehicle.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Short-eared Owls hunt primarily on the wing, typically as they fly low over the ground in a manner reminiscent of Northern Harriers.<\/p>\n![\"short-eared](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/short-eared-owl-4343b-ron-dudley.jpg\")
1\/8000, f\/5.6, ISO 800, 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![\"short-eared](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/short-eared-owl-4367b-ron-dudley.jpg\")
1\/8000, f\/5.6, ISO 800, 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![\"short-eared](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/short-eared-owl-4382b-ron-dudley.jpg\")
1\/8000, f\/5.6, ISO 800, 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![\"short-eared](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/short-eared-owl-4409b-ron-dudley.jpg\")
1\/8000, f\/5.6, ISO 800, 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![\"short-eared](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/short-eared-owl-4410b-ron-dudley.jpg\")
1\/8000, f\/5.6, ISO 800, 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![\"short-eared](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/short-eared-owl-4411b-ron-dudley.jpg\")
1\/8000, f\/5.6, ISO 800, 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![\"short-eared](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/short-eared-owl-4467b-ron-dudley.jpg\")
1\/6400, f\/6.3, ISO 800, 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![\"bison](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/bison-5215-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n