{"id":9659,"date":"2012-12-01T07:46:51","date_gmt":"2012-12-01T14:46:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=9659"},"modified":"2012-12-01T10:58:00","modified_gmt":"2012-12-01T17:58:00","slug":"road-killed-barn-owls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2012\/12\/01\/road-killed-barn-owls\/","title":{"rendered":"Road-killed Barn Owls"},"content":{"rendered":"

Talk about\u00a0coincidence!<\/p>\n

Last night, as I was working up some images of Barn Owls for a blog post on the species, I received the following\u00a0UBIRD email (used\u00a0here by permission)\u00a0from my good friend, enthusiastic birder and budding bird photographer, Shyloh Robinson.\u00a0 Shyloh lives very close to Farmington Bay\u00a0Waterfowl Management\u00a0Area (FBWMA) and this time of year he’s almost always at the refuge in the evenings looking for birds – particularly owls.<\/p>\n

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“:(\u00a0\u00a0 when a grown man uses an emoticon,\u00a0 you KNOW he’s serious!<\/em><\/p>\n

Each night this week, I’ve visited my home at FBWMA to look at the owls.<\/em><\/p>\n

I went a bit early tonight to make sure I saw some hawks too. They were posted up in the usual spots. I drove straight to the 4way to wait for any short-eared. (That’s the good spot for them.) Sadly, I saw no owls… Until I left and was on Glovers Lane.\u00a0 Another Barn Owl was dead in the road, and being collected. I got a lump in my throat.<\/em><\/p>\n

I’m quickly learning why moving vehicles are a Barn Owl’s worst enemy. These alba’s have meant a lot to me lately and I’m saddened to see them ghosted. Now what?<\/em><\/p>\n

Shyloh”<\/em><\/p>\n

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Knowing Shyloh as well as I do, I knew he was devastated.\u00a0 He simply adores “his” owls – an emotion that I share because I’ve spent many, many hours at FBWMA looking for, and photographing, those\u00a0Barn Owls.\u00a0 They are a special species, in so <\/em>many ways.<\/p>\n

Shyloh’s\u00a0UBIRD post\u00a0inspired me to change the focus of my Barn Owl blog\u00a0post to the devastating effects of vehicular traffic on their populations (more on that subject after the photos).\u00a0 But first\u00a0I thought I’d present a few images of them as a reminder of what a unique and beautiful species they are.\u00a0 Normally, Barn Owls are strictly nocturnal (which is why Shyloh is often at the refuge until just after dark) but during very cold winters they’ll occasionally hunt during daytime.<\/p>\n

Each of these images was taken at the Farmington “4-way”, mentioned by Shyloh.<\/p>\n

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\"barn<\/p>\n

\u00a01\/2000, f\/8, ISO 400, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc natural light, not baited, set up or called in\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0Occasionally, they’ll hunt long enough in the morning to get good light on the bird.<\/p>\n

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\"barn<\/p>\n

\u00a01\/1250, f\/8, ISO 400, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc natural light, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0But more often than not, you’re struggling for light.\u00a0 This is one of the few images I have of a Barn Owl in flight, with prey (a vole, tucked behind the talons).<\/p>\n

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\"barn<\/p>\n

\u00a01\/2000, f\/8, ISO 400, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc natural light, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

Their distinctly heart-shaped facial disk (ruff) and relatively small, deeply set dark eyes are quite evident here.<\/p>\n

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\"barn<\/p>\n

\u00a01\/2000, f\/8, ISO 400, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc natural light, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>My general preference is to have habitat showing in the image.\u00a0 Here, the owl is hunting a frosty stand of Phragmites.<\/p>\n

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\"barn<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a01\/2000, f\/8, ISO 400, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc natural light, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Rarely, there will be more than one owl hunting the same area simultaneously.\u00a0 I was pleasantly surprised to be able to get both birds in the frame, and sharp, using the 500mm + tc \u00a0(I’ve posted this image once before).<\/p>\n

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Collisions with vehicles have a significant effect on populations of Barn Owls, which is\u00a0likely due to a variety of factors – they have adapted very well to human habitation so they often hunt at night near roads, they’re not\u00a0considered to be highly maneuverable flyers\u00a0so they\u00a0have difficulty avoiding cars and then throw into the mix the blinding effects of headlights in darkness and you have a disaster waiting to happen.\u00a0 And it does, all to often.<\/p>\n

A few relevant factlets regarding collisions between Barn Owls and vehicles,\u00a0quoted verbatim from Birds of North America Online<\/em>, out of Cornell University (a pay site, but\u00a0well worth their $40 annual fee):<\/p>\n