![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/short-eared-owl-9236b-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"short-eared-owl-9236b-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\n1\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 640, 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 But this bird, a male I believe, finally cooperated. He was hunting voles from fence posts and he was so intent on his hunting he seemed unconcerned by my presence and made three attempts at voles in the few minutes I was with him. This series of nine images will document one of them.<\/p>\n He spotted or heard something, presumably a vole, in the grassy strip between the road I was on and his perch and…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 640, 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 in an instant he was after it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 640, 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 was able to stay locked on to the bird for multiple frames after he left the post and flew almost directly toward me.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 640, 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 a pano crop to accommodate those incredibly long wings in a horizontal position.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 640, 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 At this point the metal\u00a0post must be several feet behind him but this angle and his foot position\u00a0make it look like he’s still pushing off from it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2000, f\/6.3, ISO 640, 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 When he dropped down far enough to put the fence directly behind him\u00a0in the nearby background…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2000, f\/6.3, ISO 640, 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 had more difficulty keeping sharp focus on the bird so in these final three flight shots the owl\u00a0isn’t as sharp as I like.\u00a0As a result I had to add more sharpening during processing than I like to.<\/p>\n Ok, here’s where he demonstrated his speed and\u00a0acrobatic skills. At this point he seemed to be focused on prey on the ground directly in front of him but at the last millisecond as he approached it he appeared<\/em> to spot something else of interest (presumably another vole)\u00a0in the tall grass below him and to his right.\u00a0His reaction to the\u00a0rapidly changing situation…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/2000, f\/6.3, ISO 640, 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 was so incredibly quick as to be blinding. By raising one wing, lowering the other and using his tail as a rudder\u00a0he instantly altered his direction and speed and pounced on something else in the grasses to his right.<\/p>\n This maneuver reminded me of one of those patented\u00a0Northern Harrier hunting moves that is so\u00a0unbelievably quick it always knocks my socks off when I see it. It was nothing more than dumb\u00a0luck that allowed me to keep most of the bird in frame and sharp enough to be used for documentary purposes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n