Saw-whet

[alloutdoors]

Last Sunday I was photographing the largest owl we get here in the north east (great grays), and today I was after the smallest. I was at my in-laws for the weekend and there is a nature center about 45 minutes from their house that is a known location for saw-whet owls. I took my son with me and went looking this morning. Another photographer had keyed me in on the best place to look along the trail but as it turned out we didn't need to look very hard because when we got there several people were already observing it. Getting a clear shot wasn't easy but I managed to find a few angles that worked ok. Not long after we got there a barred owl started calling nearby which prompted the saw-whet to open its eyes a little bit, but before long it dozed off again.

Then the sun came out in full force and moved to where it was creating harsh light and shadows across the owl but we had a good time hiking some of the trails and looking through the visitor center. This was our first trip to this nature center but I'm looking forward to going back, it was a beautiful property. 

My son grabbing a few shots.

Edited March 20, 2017 by alloutdoors

[chrisw]

Awesome pics as usual. What lens are you using?

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

[alloutdoors]

Canon 600mm f4 IS II. First shot is cropped a bit with the bare lens, second was taken using the 1.4x III teleconverter.

[ny hunter]

Great pics ...Thanks for posting

[sodfather]

Now that's a lens holy crap!

[grampy]

The pic's with the little guy, enjoying his time with dad, are even better than the awesome owl pic's! 

Being part native american, owls are my "spirit bird". And I absolutely love seeing and hearing them. Beautiful work!!

[wooly]

I've never seen one of these guys.

I have to imagine it's tough to get a good series of shots from one of them sitting in the same spot sleeping all day and not moving much.

No excuses when it comes to having your camera settings right.

How many shots did you come home with of this guy?

 

[alloutdoors]

I've never seen one of these guys.
I have to imagine it's tough to get a good series of shots from one of them sitting in the same spot sleeping all day and not moving much.
No excuses when it comes to having your camera settings right.
How many shots did you come home with of this guy?
 

About 100 pics between two different camera locations, but that's from firing bursts when he blinked his eyes, trying to get them as open as possible. They add up quick with a camera that shoots at 14 frames/second. I was also taking a lot of test shots, moving the tripod an inch or two, more test shots, move again, while trying to get the best angle through the branches.

This was my first saw-whet as well. The photographer who told me where to look says he only sees him maybe one in ten trips, so I'm very glad we saw him.

[Curmudgeon]

Saw-whets are tough. I've only seen and heard them in the dark. Well done.

[rachunter]

i hit one of those one morning it was stuck in my grill.I Felt like crap.

[doebuck1234]

Amazing pics!

[Pygmy]

43 minutes ago, rachunter said:

i hit one of those one morning it was stuck in my grill.I Felt like crap.

Yeah...I know how you feel, Rac...

I have hit a great horned owl ( carrying a muskrat)  a screech owl and two hawks...The hawks were both unidentified as I was at highway speed and could not stop to check them, but from the size both appeared to be medium sized accipiters, probably sharp shins, cooper's or perhaps harriers...

Every one of them swooped in front of me at high speed and were bouncing off my windshield or fender before I knew they were there...

[Lawdwaz]

I've seen one saw-whet owl that I know of.  I was with my friend Clark and we were tracking a buck I hit with the bow, we had a Coleman lantern and here is this little bitty owl about eye level on a pine branch right in front of us. One of those VERY cool things that only outdoorsy people ever get a chance to see. 

Ha...didn't know "outdoorsy" is a word.

Edited March 21, 2017 by Lawdwaz