Asio flammeus

Owl See You at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge

By Mia McPherson, on May 6th, 2013%

Female Short-eared Owl and chick at nest

I’ve said before that owls fascinate me; probably more times than I can count, and Short-eared Owls are always a delight. Although I see and photograph Short-eared Owls here in Utah I have had some very special photography sessions with them at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in the Centennial Valley of Montana. Two summers ago I spotted a mated pair of them not too far from a road with the nest at the base of a Sagebrush. The nest was far enough away from the road that we could photograph them without disturbing the adults or the chicks.

Male Short-eared Owl with Centennial Mountains in the background

The male hunted for his young from the air and when he found prey he would swoop down from the sky and then deliver the prey to the female. He did this many times while observing the Short-eared Owl family. The light was difficult to photograph in which meant I bumped my ISO up higher than I would have liked to get sufficient shutter speed, that left a bit of noise in the background and I applied some noise reduction to it. The Centennial Mountains make for a lovely background.

Male Short-eared Owl with prey for his young

This image shows the male bringing in a vole to his family with the Centennial Mountains in the background, part of the Lower Lake and the grasses below. This male Short-eared Owl seem to be a proficient hunter.

Female Short-eared Owl in a fog

This beautiful female Short-eared Owl who posed in a lake fog was very cooperative and I could have easily filled my CF cards several times in the 13 minutes I had to photograph her. She was close to the edge of the road perched on a fence post in the fog as the sun rose and began to warm the day. It felt magical to be in her presence!

Short-eared Owl with tufts showing

Last year the vole population of the Centennial Valley had crashed and it appeared that many of the Short-eared Owls had moved to more fertile hunting ground. This Short-eared Owl was among the few I saw on the refuge last summer but she sure was a beauty.

Will they be there this year? I don’t know for sure but I certainly hope so.

Mia

Please take a moment to view the proposal for the creation of a Federal Wildlife Conservation Stamp which could provide a robust, parallel revenue stream for National Wildlife Refuges, preserving habitat and wildlife, while giving non-extractive users a funding tool and a stronger voice in habitat and wildlife decisions on our shared, public lands. If you agree it is time for this proposal to come to fruition, please consider backing the effort by joining our “About Us” page as a supporter.

This is a great read about Who Owns the Wildlife? written by John W. Laundré, Cougar Biologist State University of New York at Oswego

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A Short-eared Owl in a fog

By Mia McPherson, on February 9th, 2013%

Short-eared Owl in a fog – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/1000, ISO 500, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited, called in or set up

Isn’t this Short-eared Owl lovely with her big yellow eyes? It had been a while since I had seen a Short-eared Owl and I was quite surprised when I spotted her on top of some snow-covered Rabbitbrush late last month along the causeway to Antelope Island State Park. It was a very foggy morning and the ground was covered in snow, the snow helped to brighten the scene some but I still had to increase my exposure compensation to +1.0 in order to expose her well in camera.

This image may be a bit high key for some people’s tastes but for me this image is a window showing a small portion of this owl’s world.

Mia

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Short-eared Owl at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge

By Mia McPherson, on December 2nd, 2012%

Perched Short-eared Owl – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/800, ISO 500, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited or set up

Due to a crash in the vole population at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge last summer there weren’t many Short-eared Owls around the refuge but the few that were there were real beauties.

This female Short-eared Owl was perched on a fence post in the light of the setting sun with a part of the Upper Lake in the background. With the breeze blowing even her short ear tufts were visible.

Mia

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Male Short-eared Owl in low light

By Mia McPherson, on September 16th, 2012%

Male Short-eared Owl in flight – Nikon D200, f5.6, 1/640, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited

Sometimes my hopes are too high. I hope for birds and I also hope for birds in good light. I don’t always get what I want though; for example, I wanted this male Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) I photographed at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Montana in good light.

When I photographed this owl I didn’t have my Nikon D300 yet and didn’t feel comfortable using a higher ISO than 640 on my Nikon D200. In good light this image would have been better than what it is but I am still happy with the flight pose, the view of the eyes and I also like how the blur of the wings adds a feeling of motion.

This was a beautiful owl and even though I didn’t have the best conditions to photograph it, I am glad I took the shots anyway.

Mia

P.S.: My mother is visiting me on her first trip to Utah, she is going to love it! I’ll be slow to view and comment on your blogs, thanks for understanding. Please feel free to share this post with your friends and family.

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Short-eared Owl bathed in evening light

By Mia McPherson, on August 15th, 2012%

Short-eared Owl bathed in evening light, Glacier County, Montana – Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/500, ISO 400, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited

This Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) image was taken just a little over a year ago in Glacier County, Montana. I still remember how cooperative this male was, the gorgeous golden light of the setting sun and the great location. I hope that I see more Short-eared Owls this summer, they have been a challenge to locate.

Mia

More Short-eared Owl images