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In addition to active nests, hunting areas like open fields near the edges of mature forests is the other place I've been fortunate enough to see and photograph owls. Sometimes I know a nest is somewhere nearby in the old growth, sometimes I hear the Owls in the thicker trees but can't find them but they need to eat and they often hunt in the sparser trees or open meadows especially if there are Squirrels, Chipmunks or rodents around.
Here's a couple of images captured in hunting grounds. The first was close to a deep ravine where I suspect this Great Gray Owl was nesting but near sunrise and sunset she came out to hunt. I saw her perched up on a branch and got some portraits but when she started staring intently at the ground I spun up my shutter speed and managed to capture a couple of images as she dove down on an unsuspecting Chipmunk and flew off with it.
The second shot is a bit stranger, I was out visiting a wetland wildlife management area on a windy, rainy and cold day looking for marsh birds like Bitterns and Herons when I came across three Short Eared Owls hunting over the grassy marshes. After a while this one landed and I guess he was drying out his wings in the wind but stood there for about twenty minutes with his wings stretched out in various positions before taking off to hunt some more.
Great Gray Owl Hunting
Short Eared Owl Drying Out in the Wind
Edited on Oct 07, 2021 at 11:16 PM · View previous versions
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