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![\"barn-owl-9004-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/barn-owl-9004-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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1\/1250, f\/7.1, ISO 640, Canon 7D,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS\u00a0USM, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n Three years ago today the snow was deep along the Wasatch Front and as a result this Barn Owl was active and hunting during daytime at Farmington Bay. These conditions are good for bird photographers (though the light was horrible that day)\u00a0but not for Barn Owls who must extend their normal nocturnal\u00a0hunting time in order to find sufficient food for survival. When they don’t, they die. There’s good reason why these generally non-migratory\u00a0owls are virtually nonexistent in states like Montana and North Dakota with their frigid winter\u00a0temperatures and deep snow.<\/p>\n Typically they fly low and slow and listen for rodents (often voles in my area) under the snow and when they hear something they plunge…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n head first into the snow in an attempt to capture it. When the snow is deep (as it was on this day) or if it has a hard crust on the surface their chances of success are significantly reduced. On this morning the snow was soft and fluffy and despite its depth the owl…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1250, f\/5.6, ISO 640, Canon 7D,<\/em> Canon EF 100-400mm f\/4.5-5.6L IS II USM @ 320mm, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n came up with a mouse. Typically at Farmington their prey is voles but this one is obviously a mouse based on its white ventral surface and…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1250, f\/5.6, ISO 640, Canon 7D,<\/em> Canon EF 100-400mm f\/4.5-5.6L IS II USM @ 320mm, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n long tail (vole tails are significantly shorter). The owl gobbled the mouse down very quickly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2000, f\/7.1, ISO 640, Canon 7D,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS\u00a0USM, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n This bird\u00a0was having a very good morning because only four minutes later it caught another mouse. But this time it flew off with the rodent to enjoy its meal in a more secluded location.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1600, f\/7.1, ISO 640, Canon 7D,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS\u00a0USM, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n This mouse didn’t have the white belly so perhaps\u00a0it’s a different species than the previous one.<\/p>\n We’re scheduled to have a Christmas Eve snow-dump so I suspect conditions similar to these are just over our horizon. If it happens I look forward to potential photographic opportunities with Barn Owls but it also makes me apprehensive for their survival – many of them freeze or die of starvation when there’s deep snow and it turns very cold.<\/p>\n In those conditions I sometimes see them shivering uncontrollably\u00a0and that really tugs at my heart…<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Deep or crusty snow makes hunting difficult for Barn Owls.<\/p>\n![\"barn-owl-8265b-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/barn-owl-8265b-ron-dudley.jpg\")
1\/1250, f\/5.6, ISO 640, Canon 7D,<\/em> Canon EF 100-400mm f\/4.5-5.6L IS II USM @ 320mm, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"barn](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/barn-owl-8310-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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<\/p>\n![\"barn-owl-9031-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/barn-owl-9031-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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