Owlets

Last week, I was checking out a spot where I’ve seen owls in the past with hopes of seeing one again. It’s a great location because the tree is back onto a hill, so if the owls are in the right place, you can get up high and take photos from almost eye level. Getting eye level is a piece of advice I learned from watching Isaac Spott’s stories on Instagram. He’s been known to crouch down in a creek to get the right angle when photographing moose, and I find myself on my belly in the fields of Point Reyes a lot, but it’s typically harder when you have birds in trees.

I immediately saw two great horned owls when I got up the hill. One sleepily watched me while the other moved to a higher branch. Working with those owls alone would have been great, but something white caught my eye, and I realized two fledglings were sitting together on top of the next tree. They were staring at me with great interest, and I returned the favor. I took a lot of shots from different angles, but I knew the results would be mixed because the lens was hand-held, and indeed, they were.

I decided to return the following week with a tripod. On that occasion, I only saw one fledgling. I hope the other was safely tucked away in the branches, but I know young owls don’t have a great survival rate, so you never know. They don’t have excellent camouflage at that stage of life. What it did have was an impressive scowl! Owls are such expressive animals. And the tripod worked well, eliminating the camera shake.