yellow eyes

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

More Short-eared Owl images

American Oystercatcher in a Tidal Lagoon

By Mia McPherson, on July 4th, 2012%

I’ve been working up images for a long post and this American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) image is a clue as to what that post will be about.

Adult American Oystercatcher in a tidal lagoon – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1/1250, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light

I had a marvelous time on March 22, 2009 photographing this bird and several other oystercatchers in a tidal lagoon at Fort De Soto’s north beach. By that time in March the water was already warm but it felt refreshing to lay in the shallowest water on the shoreline to get the lowest angle possible.

American Oystercatchers are very distinctive shorebirds with long reddish bills, pink legs, bright yellow eyes combined with black, brown and white plumage.

Mia

More American Oystercatcher images