Three Snowy Owls have made our non-existent winter here in Syracuse NY quite enjoyable.The owls have created excitement to birdwatchers and photographers from the irruption. I have had success in getting close and the immature male pictured is very animated, except for the pellet regurgitation. This is a great subject to photograph in the absence of frozen lakes pushing our bald eagles to the lake in the city. Last year we had 28 BE, this year only three so far. Let me know what you think.
Thanks
Greg
nice shots! these birds are everywhere, read an article on how they are migrating way further south, and to many more places, this year than ever before. i haven't seen any in the sf bay area unfortunately...pretty cool venue to see them.
Thank you for the feedback. The website has a 8 shot sequence of the pellet regurgitation. Pretty gross but it is biology. The pellet was as long as a hot dog. Our local raptor expert concluded that may be as many as three vols in that package. The first image actually is my sharpest image. In order to downsize the image to display on this forum, I converted the image resolution down to 28% in Lightroom on export. I will rework the image to resize correctly to prevent the softness. The Snowy Owl is a great subject that can stare you down every time. Thanks for the comments.
Jan 31, 2012 at 03:37 PM
Herb Houghton Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: On
I agree with Tim, #1 and 3 look soft. #2 looks like he may be perturbed, 15 yards is a bit too close to approach a large raptor without a blind of some kind. Snowy owls and bald eagles are approachable to a certain degree but we should consider the bird's welfare first, the photo secondary.
Herb,
The owl was perched on fence post at busy airport with heavy car traffic. I captured with 600mm from car window mount. It was more like 15-20yds away. I Never exit my vehicle. I totally agree on respect. When an owl is uncomfortable it leaves. This owl is very comfortable. The image just shows expression, it does not describe the conditions it was shot under. I photographed the young male for about 5 minutes and I left the owl where we met, on the fence post. I feel photographers have more respect than birdwatchers who jump out of their car and approach the bird when they get the chance. Not all, but many.
Greg
