{"id":76280,"date":"2020-12-20T05:53:44","date_gmt":"2020-12-20T12:53:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=76280"},"modified":"2025-03-07T03:41:32","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T09:41:32","slug":"hunting-barn-owl-in-flight-over-the-frozen-marsh-at-farmington-bay-wma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/12\/20\/hunting-barn-owl-in-flight-over-the-frozen-marsh-at-farmington-bay-wma\/","title":{"rendered":"Hunting American Barn Owl In Flight Over The Frozen Marsh At Farmington Bay WMA"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-132578 size-full\" title=\"Hunting American Barn Owl in flight\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-hunting-daytime-mia-mcpherson-9521.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-hunting-daytime-mia-mcpherson-9521.jpg\" alt=\"Hunting American Barn Owl in flight, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Davis County, Utah\" width=\"900\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27643%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20900%20643%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27900%27%20height%3D%27643%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-hunting-daytime-mia-mcpherson-9521-200x143.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-hunting-daytime-mia-mcpherson-9521-250x179.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-hunting-daytime-mia-mcpherson-9521-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-hunting-daytime-mia-mcpherson-9521-400x286.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-hunting-daytime-mia-mcpherson-9521-600x429.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-hunting-daytime-mia-mcpherson-9521-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-hunting-daytime-mia-mcpherson-9521-800x572.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-hunting-daytime-mia-mcpherson-9521.jpg 900w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Hunting American Barn Owl in flight &#8211; Nikon D300, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 500, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p>During the winter there are times I am able to photograph American Barn Owls in flight during the day when the snow is deep and the temps are bitter cold. In the winter 2013 I photographed American Barn Owls on many trips to <a href=\"https:\/\/playindavis.com\/places-to-play\/listing\/eccles-wildlife-education-center\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Farmington Bay WMA<\/span><\/a>. That was one of the harshest winters I have experienced since I moved to Utah in 2009.<\/p>\n<p>Typically American Barn Owls are nocturnal but here in northern Utah they can be seen hunting during the day when they have young in the nest to feed around April and during the winter when there is a heavy layer of snow covering the ground. It is harder for the American Barn Owls to capture prey through the snow so they hunt later in the morning, earlier in the afternoon and sometimes all day long just to have enough food to survive.<\/p>\n<p>On the January afternoon when I photographed this American Barn Owl in 2013 it was well below freezing, the deep snow crunched under the tires and even though it was later in the day than I am normally at the WMA the winter light was wonderful. There was also some fog hanging over the marsh behind the owl.<\/p>\n<p>Winters just aren&#8217;t as harsh, we don&#8217;t seem to have as much snow as we used to, and it doesn&#8217;t seem to snow as frequently as it did when I first arrived in Utah more than eleven years ago.\u00a0 It is much more uncommon for me to see American Barn Owls in flight during the day. Perhaps I will see some hunting during the day this winter but at this point in time I believe that it is more likely that I won&#8217;t.<\/p>\n<p>Mia<\/p>\n<p>Click <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/barn-owl-images\/\">here<\/a><\/span> to view more of my American Barn Owl photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>During the winter there are times I am able to photograph Barn Owls in flight during the day when the snow is deep and the temps are bitter cold.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":132578,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[129,27,1022,697,26],"tags":[3985,2663,5009,4101,6660,5490,10765,4052,4122,4175,8248,3970,6384,3967,294,4018,4050,49,373],"class_list":["post-76280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-barn-owls","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-utah","tag-barn-owl","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-bitter-cold","tag-clouds","tag-day","tag-daylight","tag-deep","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-fog","tag-harsh","tag-hunting","tag-on-the-wing","tag-owl","tag-owls","tag-sky","tag-snow","tag-tyto-furcata","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-hunting-daytime-mia-mcpherson-9521.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-jQk","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7237,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/01\/24\/barn-owl-on-a-foggy-morning\/","url_meta":{"origin":76280,"position":0},"title":"American Barn Owl On A Foggy Morning","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Fog can add a moody feel to images and yesterday there was plenty of fog at Farmington Bay WMA. There were a few Barn Owls hunting for food and I captured images of this one as it flew towards me.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;American Barn Owls&quot;","block_context":{"text":"American Barn Owls","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/owls\/barn-owls\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Barn Owl in flight on a foggy morning at Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/barn-owl-flight-mia-mcpherson-4086.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/barn-owl-flight-mia-mcpherson-4086.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/barn-owl-flight-mia-mcpherson-4086.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/barn-owl-flight-mia-mcpherson-4086.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":56312,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/02\/23\/winter-barn-owls-in-flight-during-daylight-are-hungry\/","url_meta":{"origin":76280,"position":1},"title":"Winter American Barn Owls In Flight During Daylight Are Hungry","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 23, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I always feel fortunate when I am able to photograph winter Barn Owls in flight during daylight hours but that means that these gorgeous owls are struggling to stay alive and that is a concern for me.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;American Barn Owls&quot;","block_context":{"text":"American Barn Owls","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/owls\/barn-owls\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Barn Owl diving after prey, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/barn-owl-flight-daylight-mia-mcpherson-5876.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/barn-owl-flight-daylight-mia-mcpherson-5876.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/barn-owl-flight-daylight-mia-mcpherson-5876.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/barn-owl-flight-daylight-mia-mcpherson-5876.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7122,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/01\/14\/barn-owls-and-harsh-winters\/","url_meta":{"origin":76280,"position":2},"title":"American Barn Owls and Harsh Winters","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 14, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"American Barn Owls are typically strictly nocturnal but during harsh winters with lots of snow they do hunt during the day here in Utah.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;American Barn Owls&quot;","block_context":{"text":"American Barn Owls","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/owls\/barn-owls\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Barn Owl flying over a marsh in winter, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-flight-winter-snowy-mia-mcpherson-9479.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-flight-winter-snowy-mia-mcpherson-9479.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-flight-winter-snowy-mia-mcpherson-9479.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-flight-winter-snowy-mia-mcpherson-9479.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17236,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/11\/30\/barn-owl-on-the-wing\/","url_meta":{"origin":76280,"position":3},"title":"American Barn Owl on the Wing","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 30, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Barn Owls are gorgeous with their dark as ebony eyes, beautiful plumage and graceful flight so I find it difficult to suppress my delight when I see them on the wing.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;American Barn Owls&quot;","block_context":{"text":"American Barn Owls","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/owls\/barn-owls\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Barn Owl on the wing in flight over a marsh at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/barn-owl-flight-snow-mia-mcpherson-9347.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/barn-owl-flight-snow-mia-mcpherson-9347.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/barn-owl-flight-snow-mia-mcpherson-9347.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/barn-owl-flight-snow-mia-mcpherson-9347.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7499,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/02\/11\/more-barn-owl-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":76280,"position":4},"title":"More American Barn Owl images","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 11, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Perched American Barn Owl images might not be as dynamic as those when the owl's are in flight but I enjoy them just as much as I do those with more action.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;American Barn Owls&quot;","block_context":{"text":"American Barn Owls","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/owls\/barn-owls\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Barn Owl flying close up, Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-flying-mia-mcpherson-9462.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-flying-mia-mcpherson-9462.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-flying-mia-mcpherson-9462.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/barn-owl-flying-mia-mcpherson-9462.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":50197,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/12\/24\/barn-owl-in-a-winter-white-out\/","url_meta":{"origin":76280,"position":5},"title":"American Barn Owl in a Winter White Out","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 24, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Four years ago I photographed a American Barn Owl in a winter white out at Farmington Bay WMA and I have to admit that photographing it was tough.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;American Barn Owls&quot;","block_context":{"text":"American Barn Owls","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/owls\/barn-owls\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Barn Owl in a snow-covered marsh, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/barn-owl-winter-mia-mcpherson-2061.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/barn-owl-winter-mia-mcpherson-2061.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/barn-owl-winter-mia-mcpherson-2061.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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