burrowing owl

Burrowing Owl juvenile on a Sagebrush

By Mia McPherson, on April 21st, 2013%

Burrowing Owl juvenile

I can’t resist photographing Burrowing Owls, I just can’t. They are so much fun to see and observe. I photographed this juvenile last year as it tried to get its balance back while perched on a Sagebrush and the pose and facial expression amuses me.

I’ve been seeing the Burrowing Owls on the island again, it won’t be too long before there are chicks.

Mia

Burrowing Owls draw me in

By Mia McPherson, on March 19th, 2013%

Juvenile Burrowing Owl looking right at me – Nikon D200, f7.1, 1/750, ISO 250, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited

Last week I spotted my first Burrowing Owl of the year, it was a distance away and I didn’t take any images of it but I had to do a wiggle dance in my seat because I was excited seeing one again. The adults are beautiful and the juveniles; well they draw me in.

Burrowing Owl juvenile looking at something in the distance - Nikon D200, f8, 1/500, ISO 320, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited

Juvenile Burrowing Owls can look very serious and they can also appear rather funny, they are very animated and entertaining and they make fantastic subjects. Photographing them is a joy.

Can’t wait!

Mia

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And, my monthly post is up at BirdingIsFun.com, stop on by to check it out!

Fledgling Burrowing Owl

By Mia McPherson, on December 19th, 2012%

Fledgling Burrowing Owl – Nikon D200, f6.3, 1/320, ISO 320, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited

This is an image I created a few years ago of a fledgling Burrowing Owl on the way to Antelope Island State Park. The burrow was just off of the shoulder of the road so getting images while staying in the truck and using it as a mobile blind was easy.

This juvenile Burrowing Owl was just learning to fly at the time and wasn’t always great at landing. When I took this image it had made a soft crash landing into the Rabbitbrush and it was trying to get its balance back. I could not resist laughing as I watched the young owl flutters its wings but my laughing did make it hard to keep my focus locked on.

These Burrowing Owls are amazing and funny subjects that are tremendous fun to photograph.

There is finally some clearing in the clouds here so I’m heading out to find some birds to photograph, hope I remember how to use my camera!

Mia

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Burrowing Owl Surprise

By Mia McPherson, on November 20th, 2012%

Burrowing Owl in low light – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/80, ISO 1000, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited

There are Burrowing Owls on Antelope Island; I’ve photographed them hundreds of times, but yesterday I spotted one in a location I had never seen one before. It was close to the road which made photographing it from a vehicle easy the problem was heavy clouds made the light low and my shutter speed slow. Making sure my exposure was right using my histogram I fired off bursts which increased the chance that some of the images in the bursts would be sharp. And it worked.

Burrowing Owl Portrait – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/60, ISO 1000, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited

I liked the how the water behind the owl created a soft, pastel background, how the owl’s eyes seem to glow with the enlarged pupils and even though the setting is a little messy it all seems to meld together well.

The light did get better before the owl took off but we had moved and there was a stem in front of the owl’s face that was distracting, those images got deleted.

It was a nice surprise to find this Burrowing Owl yesterday, I hope ‘ll see it again.

Mia

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Burrowing Owls – Most of the Family

By Mia McPherson, on July 28th, 2012%

I’m taking a break today from posting photos of my recent trip to southwestern Montana to share an image of a Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) family from here in Utah that I created a few days ago.

Burrowing Owl family – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/1600, ISO 500, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 235mm, natural light, not baited

I should mention that not all of the birds from this family are shown in this frame, there are possibly 4 more owlets that aren’t perched on the sagebrush with the rest of the birds. I’d sure love an image where all of them were present.

I shouldn’t anthropomorphize but I can’t help but compare this image to some of the family portraits I have seen of my family and other families.

Juvenile Burrowing Owl on the far left: “Ok, I’m here, standing straight and giving you my best side. Take the photo already!”

Juvenile Burrowing Owl, 2nd from left: “I hate having my photo taken, I’m a little shy so I will hide”.

Adult Burrowing Owl, 3rd from left: “Where the heck are the other 4 kids?”

Juvenile Burrowing Owl, 4th from left: “I’m the clown of the family!”

Adult Burrowing Owl, 5th from left: “Junior, stop being a clown and smile for the camera”.

Juvenile Burrowing Owl, 6th from the left: “Wait, I have got something in front of my eye!!”.

I remember how challenging it was for my mom to get us all in the picture, to have us all looking at the camera, how my brother was always making silly faces and then the flash blinding us all. Those memories makes me laugh now.

I had to zoom back to 235mm to fit all of the owls into the frame.

Mia

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