Burrowing Owl juvenile

Gallery: AvianPosted March 28, 2010251 views24 comments

Athene cunicularia

The Burrowing Owls have come back! Just saw some last week. I'm excited to be able to photograph them again because they can be so delightfully comical and you never really know what they might do next, especially the juveniles.

I'm back too, I had the wind knocked out of my sails last week but they have unfurled and I am sailing smoothly along once more.

Taken August 2, 2009, Nikon D200, lens resting on pickup window, f7.1, 1/750, ISO 250, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with matching 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited. This is 51% of the original image, exposure decreased in ACR -0.05, image resized, copyright added, owl selectively masked, smart sharpening applied to both resized versions for web presentation. No further postprocessing.

I may have wished for more light to show the yellow eye however in this image the eye is shaded by the bushy "eyebrows" of this species and despite that I still caught a catchlight. I hope you think this is funny too.

As always, I sincerely appreciate your honest comments & critiques. Thank you for looking.

Comments

24 comments

Comment posted by May Haga on March 28, 2010 at 4:43 PM

Wonderful capture Mia. Nice and sharp, great composition and interesting action.
May

Registered on February 22, 2007, 714 Posts, 8470 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Moore on March 28, 2010 at 4:50 PM

You folks and the Owls??? I have only seen a few.
Another really good one and I look forward to more.

Dan

Registered on February 11, 2010, 143 Posts, 1248 Comments

Comment posted by Greg Cope on March 28, 2010 at 5:10 PM

Nice shot. I like how the owl stands out against its surrounding, which usually isn't the case around here.

Registered on January 22, 2007, 212 Posts, 2737 Comments

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on March 28, 2010 at 5:24 PM

Great pose and just enough of the eye showing to make this one great. Well done. Sharon

Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments

Comment posted by Mauro Pasquero on March 28, 2010 at 5:52 PM

Great capture, Mia! I love it.
Mauro

Registered on January 21, 2010, 650 Posts, 2500 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on March 28, 2010 at 6:00 PM

Very three dimensional effect in this shot, Mia. Lovely. Looks like he's nervous though (biting his nails

)
Glad your sails unfurled successfully!

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments

Comment posted by Charles Gangas on March 28, 2010 at 6:03 PM

Mia-tack sharp and great background... that said not sure what the gesture means, back East one could find himself in a bit of trouble getting caught doing that!

Glad to read you're back in the saddle-lovely shot!

Registered on August 12, 2009, 544 Posts, 2414 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on March 28, 2010 at 6:17 PM

Mia, I love the comp here. The perch rock, the intermediate BG, and the distant BG. Really nice depth. The bird is wonderful with its posing showing action. The eye is fine with me. More than anything I like the eye you can't see. It shows the really long "eyebrows" very well. Great exposure and sharpness as usual. Well done.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on March 28, 2010 at 7:38 PM

Great pose you captured well here Mia

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Walters on March 28, 2010 at 7:48 PM

Nice shot. I like the pose. The image looks like it could use a little contrast and just a little saturation.

Registered on October 30, 2005, 405 Posts, 3693 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on March 28, 2010 at 8:10 PM

Very fun, Mia. I'm looking forward to your work with them this summer. They have to be one of the most photogenic bird species there is.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Lotito on March 28, 2010 at 8:25 PM

Excellent capture Mia. I wish I had more owls to take pictures of. I really like the composition along with the owl just being an owl.

Mike

Registered on June 26, 2009, 181 Posts, 1558 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on March 28, 2010 at 9:31 PM

Very nice pose and environmental setting. Your usual first rate image quality.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Rhodus on March 28, 2010 at 9:33 PM

I don't know if I'd consider this funny action but it is definitely interesting action. I've never had the pleasure of seeing a burrowing owl but I hope to one day. I'm looking forward to seeing what you capture of them this year.

Registered on November 16, 2003, 157 Posts, 3326 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on March 29, 2010 at 12:59 AM

Mi, the behavior in this is very cool and it is what makes this different from many other Burrowing Owl shots I have seen. I like everything I see!!!

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on March 29, 2010 at 2:10 AM

It's rude to pick your nose. Great setting and light Mia

cheers
Rob

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on March 29, 2010 at 8:31 AM

super pose and setting, Mia. I like the mellow color scheme as well. these birds certainly have character--they are so expressive and variable--so different from the typically stoic owl. I'm with Dennis, can't wait to see the results of a full season with the salt lake Burrowing Owls.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Monica Siri on March 29, 2010 at 12:42 PM

Mia,
great pose of this nice bird. More I look at him and more I like him. Excellent work, as usual.

Registered on September 20, 2009, 132 Posts, 3764 Comments

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on March 29, 2010 at 3:59 PM

Interesting pose to add to your owl series. I also like the background colour and its soft texture.

Registered on February 4, 2007, 350 Posts, 4614 Comments

Comment posted by Graham Brown on March 29, 2010 at 6:05 PM

An interesting pose Mia as they usually are in your images. I really like your choice of composition and layered background. Graham

Registered on November 20, 2007, 275 Posts, 1365 Comments

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on March 29, 2010 at 8:14 PM

Thanks to your advise I'll be taking a trip with Audubon in May to find these guys. Can't wait as I have never seen one. I like his pose as well as the soft foggy looking bg. Glad you are back

Registered on June 30, 2009, 300 Posts, 5051 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on March 29, 2010 at 9:05 PM

Ahhh, I so well remember these little friends of ours Mia. I love the soft greens in the background and the two layers of "OOFness" there. IQ is wonderful but I'm most fond of the one toed salute...

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Walt Sterneman on March 29, 2010 at 9:16 PM

Wow! Greta capture Mia. I would love to be able to do this.

Registered on March 24, 2010, 73 Posts, 1268 Comments

Comment posted by Avi Hirschfield on April 4, 2010 at 7:50 AM

Mia I am also getting back and Yes I agree they are really hilarious to watch as you have no idea what's going to happen next.
I like the posture and detail.
AVI

Registered on November 1, 2003, 518 Posts, 2114 Comments