Three days ago, my friend Steve Creek and I had an amazing experience with a mated pair of Barred Owls next to a road at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge.

Male and female Barred Owls side by side, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, OklahomaMale and female Barred Owls side by side – Nikon D500, hand held, f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 45,600, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited or called in

The owls were so close to the road that I had to slowly exit Steve’s pickup in order to photograph them, and even then, I opted to take portraits because of their close proximity. The male owl flew in and gently nuzzled the neck of the female as they perched side by side in the tree.

To make matters worse for me, I had accidentally turned on auto ISO somehow, and my ISO was so high that I could detect noise in my images. It was fairly dark under the canopy of tree branches though, and I did need a high ISO to get the shutter speed I needed.

But the owls called, and it was wonderful. Amazing. Exciting.

I used my cell phone to take a video of the owls calling in the trees. In the video, the male can be seen flying in to join the female. Again, it was dark in the bottomland hardwood forest where these owls were located.

I’m sure I’m leaving out important bits of information, but you can check out Steve’s post for more about this mated pair of owls and see his video too.

Until my next Barred Owl post, I leave you with this vision of snuggling owls.

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Barred Owl photos.