Having spoke to the nocturnal Owl whisperer Chidders yesterday about the local Barn Owls and camera settings etc, I decided to have an early start today. I am quite used to getting up early but when Chiddy said they tend to show well between 2.30 - 4.30am I was a little shocked to say the least. After having a few hours sleep I woke up at 2am and was soon on the road heading to the site. Not surprisingly I didn't see many cars and I soon arrived on site and set about finding my quarry. Chidders had set me up with some different settings to try and it wasn't long until I could see the familiar sight of a Barn Owl sitting on a post. I drove up slowly and was able to get a couple of shots before it disappeared into the night. I ended up seeing 5 Barn Owls and 1 Short eared Owl. As can be seen I hope in the top shot, the settings worked well and this is probably the best shot quality wise I have so far.
Barn Owl
Chiddy turned up not long after and we spent a few hours watching them at rest and hunting but unfortunately the fog arrived and it was quite thick in places. Although I still saw Barn Owls I don't think they liked the lights shining off the fog for as soon as I saw one in the headlights they were off. I would have liked to get a few more shots using the settings which worked well but hopefully next weekend I would have taken delivery of a Canon 7d which I have just bought and see how this performs on the owls. Despite not many shots taken today, still a superb time out watching the owls and good company with Chiddy. I can't wait to return!
Barn Owl
very nice upping the iso worked a treat,lose the wire next time lol
ReplyDeleteChiddy beat me to it, just the wire to get rid of, then perfect shots Marc :-)
ReplyDeleteMarc.
ReplyDeleteLove the owl pictures, well worth getting up early for, look forward to seeing some more
Far out Marc, that is perfection.
ReplyDeleteA great set Marc, would like to see them. Hope you enjoy the 7D when you get it.
ReplyDeleteWell worth getting out of bed for,amazing detail.
ReplyDeleteJohn.
WOW, getting up that early was well worth the effort!!
ReplyDeleteWe have a colony here on our property living in the woods but I never dared tried to get close by fear they would roost elsewhere!
Thanks for your comment on Dragonfly World, I cant' wait to see more of your own picture there!
2015 might well be the year we move to Australia so I might not be able to contribute myself much to that blog, it would be wonderful to be able to count on all our authors :)
Keep well, Marc, many more interesting observations and pic opportunities!