2016 was a terrific year for spotting and photographing Short-eared Owls in northern Utah or at least it was in Box Elder County. I found them under sagebrush, flying high overhead, perched on bushes, fence posts, and on the ground. I would find them in the distance, mid-range, and close up.
Keen eye sight is important when looking for and spotting birds but it isn’t the only tool I use to find them. I have especially good memory skills and I can remember what the lay of the land looks like including bushes, rocks, trees, slopes, cliff faces, and more. When something is not just right my brain sends out a signal to me and I look closer to see what is essentially out of order.
For instance; I’m driving (or riding) along at about 40 mph and my brain detects something in this landscape that isn’t quite right. I simply have to stop and see what it is because I saw something in it that I wanted to scope out with my lens.
It could be a rock out of place, a branch that has fallen, or something a rancher has dropped on the ground and my brain sends out that signal which causes me to take a closer look.
In the case of this landscape I saw something light colored on top of a green bush that my brain said hadn’t been there before. I took a few photos with my backup camera with a 18-200mm wide angle lens attached at 50mm which is loosely about equivalent to what our eyes see at. Can you spot what I saw?
To see what caught my attention pull the circular handle up.
Short-eared Owl on a small bush- Nikon D810, f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited
What caught my attention was this adult male Short-eared Owl perched on a bush way out in the distance in the middle of a rancher’s field. This image was taken with my bird gear set up at 700mm on a full frame camera and the owl is still perched on the exact same bush that it was perched on in the landscape photo. My brain signaled to me that something was out of place on that one particular bush.
My brain recalls every bird I have spotted, who I pointed it out to, and where I spotted it plus it recalls almost every feature of field locations I am intimately familiar with. Having my memory capabilities often works in my favor. In order for me to absorb it all into my memory banks though I have to pay attention to everything while I am in the field and use my observation skills to my full advantage. It is much the same as the muscle memory I have developed over the years where I can change my camera settings on the fly without thinking about it much at all. Knowing the lay of the land is muscle memory too.
Finding birds isn’t just about having keen eye sight, it is about paying attention to everything at all times, having great observation skills, and knowing my subjects as well as I do. Knowing what they look like, knowing their behaviors, and knowing where they might show up is critical too.
If I had not been paying attention or had been looking at my phone even for a split second I never would have seen this male Short-eared Owl.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Short-eared Owl photos plus facts and information about this species.
Just amazing! Not only is your vision a gift…but you know how to use it. I remember one of your shots – from a couple years ago – of a hawk sitting near a road. I thought then, as I do now, “…how the hell did Mia see that?” Now I know. Thanks Mia.
Good catch Mia. Glad you were paying attention.
Mia, what is the big brownish lump about 2/3rds from top and about 1/4th in from our right. Even with my four eyes😁it looks like a hawk facing to our right. Tell me my old 72 year old eyes are playing tricks on me🤔
There is a good reason I call you “EAGLE EYE MCPHERESON”👍👏
Your observant skills are second to none. Thank you.
I hope we get some SEO this year. I know there have been a few all year at the refuge, but I seem to not see them.
Wonderful photo, and very cool slider on the 50mm image. It is fun to see just what you see, in the field.
And we all benefit from you fabulous memory and observation skills! 🙂
Your description of your brain’s muscle memory resonated with me. I too can go through my pictures, and tell you exactly where almost every one was taken. I think I spot things differently though. I think I look for two things – movement, and like you, something not quite right – wrong color or texture for the setting.