![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/burrowing-owl-2156-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"burrowing-owl-2156-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\n1\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n I believe this is the male near the entrance to his burrow. His mate spent most of her time in the burrow, though I did see the top of her head for a few minutes. In this area the soil is mostly oolitic sand<\/a> which is white – accounting for the white color of the burrow mound.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n The dominant force in play while I was with this owl was the howling wind. It was blowing at least<\/em> 40 mph (having lived in Cut Bank, Montana for so many years I’m quite good at estimating wind speed) and birds in the area, including this one, were having great difficulty dealing with it. Here, even though he’s facing into the wind, his feathers are ruffled and we can see blowing sand in his shadow beneath him. I’m somewhat surprised I got as many sharp shots as I did because the wind kept catching my lens hood and making my lens wobble and jerk. Later in the day wind speed reached as high as 82 mph in some areas.<\/p>\n On top of the mound he was quite exposed to the wind and I was surprised he didn’t go down into his burrow to escape it. Instead he chose to…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/5000, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n fly a few feet away in an apparent attempt to find a low spot where he could hunker down. He stood erect for a few moments and posed for me in the flowers before doing so.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n After scoping his immediate surroundings for danger he hunkered down to escape the worst effects of the gale and he\u00a0maintained this posture for some time.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Occasionally he’d stand up and pose for me again but he was still being buffeted by the wind and suddenly, as if shot from a gun…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n he bolted across the flower patch to look for a more protected spot.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n These guys can really<\/em> scoot!<\/p>\n Every movement they make, whether flying or running (or most everything else), is incredibly fast and I was pleasantly\u00a0surprised that I was able to keep\u00a0him in frame and\u00a0in focus\u00a0for four frames while he was running. By the time this shot was taken I was panning (moving my lens to follow the bird) so this is one of those many situations where my\u00a0habitually high shutter speed paid off.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n This is the new spot he chose to escape the wind. Once again he stood erect for a few moments to scope out his new environment and then…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n hunkered down for some protection. But apparently he still wasn’t pleased with his new spot…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n so without warning he took off to find another one.<\/p>\n I was as ready for this takeoff as I could possibly\u00a0be and I still<\/em> cut off an entire\u00a0wing. Believe me,\u00a0these little\u00a0owls are fast!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n\n
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n