![\"burrowing-owl-4209-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/burrowing-owl-4209-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\nI never saw this Burrowing Owl with prey but he always seemed to have a bloody beak and he was usually hungry for more.<\/p>\n
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1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender,\u00a0not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n I saw or photographed him (I believe it to be a male) multiple times this past spring and the poor guy usually looked like he was wearing smeared\u00a0lipstick. I remember calling him “Ol’ Bloody Beak” more than once as I drove past him on the road. These photos were taken in late May and he was presumably feeding a family by then so that would explain the blood since apparently they were mostly eating voles.<\/p>\n At first\u00a0the bird appeared to be just resting but…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200, f\/5.6, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender,\u00a0not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n some time later he either saw or heard potential prey in the grasses below him and he became fixated on whatever it was. He spent quite a long time looking down intensely at the same spot before…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/5000, f\/5.6, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender,\u00a0not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n he launched in that direction.<\/p>\n To be honest I can’t remember if he came up with prey but he probably didn’t because I don’t have any photos to document it. But it wasn’t for lack of trying.<\/p>\n I’ve found images like this last one difficult to get because Burrowing Owls are small and fast and you never know at what angle (or direction) they’ll\u00a0take off\u00a0so usually I either cut off body parts or get only “air shots”. Sharp-eyed viewers will notice that the angle of the metal post is different in the third shot than it is in the previous two. That’s because if I’d rotated the last image to make the post vertical I’d have lost space at the bottom for the owl to fly into.<\/p>\n Bird photography is often an exercise in compromise…<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I never saw this Burrowing Owl with prey but he always seemed to have a bloody beak and he was usually hungry for more.<\/p>\n![\"burrowing-owl-4235-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/burrowing-owl-4235-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"burrowing-owl-4297-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/burrowing-owl-4297-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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