Short-eared Owl chick at sunriseShort-eared Owl chick at sunrise – Nikon D810, f6.3, 1/1000, ISO 400, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited

Good morning. Today I am celebrating my 2500th post here at On The Wing Photography! I’ve been sharing my photography and the stories behind the images since 2010 here on my site and what a ride it has been.

I’ve seen beautiful places in my journeys to photograph my feathered friends, met some very interesting people and made many friends along the way. Without a doubt I can say my life is better because of my all consuming, sometimes obsessive, passion for bird photography and because of my love for birds.

Bird photography isn’t always easy, there are long drives well before dawn, extremely cold and hot weather, clouds that block the light, bugs that bite and suck, and sometimes there are even equipment failures which have made me want to pull my hair out.

But following my passion, being out in nature, observing, learning about, and photographing birds has brought me tremendous joy. I’ve grown as a person and as a photographer because of my feathered friends.

It isn’t all just birds though here on my site, it is also about the other wildlife I see along the way, the grand and not so grand views, the wildflowers, the bugs, and sometimes the things that bug me.

My life is infinitely richer because of birds.

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Short-eared Owl photos plus facts and information about this species.

The Short-eared Owl chick photo was taken in May of 2016 right after the sun had risen, if I hadn’t taken a different route that morning I would have missed photographing the chick and its siblings.