New little owl thread (with a bit of info)

den

den

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Dennis
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How I met my little owl.......my first encounter with the little owl was while I was walking a regular circular walk I used to do in the Rossendale valley armed with a compact camera I came across numerous fauna and flora ,most of the time it was quick snapshots from a distance and then on to the local bird forum with my sightings, part of the walk took me past a disused quarry and that's were I first spotted the Little owl ,possibly around 2008/9 after that first sighting I got regular sightings every time I went past the quarry, most occasions I would sit on a rock and watch from a distance ,I also noticed that he would favour certain areas when the sun was out,ie he would love to sunbathe , a small compact Panasonic TZ10 was all the equipment I had ,anyway fast forward to me acquiring a DSLR and a 100-400mm that's when I decided to try and learn something about the owls and also to get a bit closer to them, I noticed that I could get to within 20/30 feet of them before they even flinched so I knew if I had a longer lens I stood a good chance of getting some close ups, of which I did ,also the other problem was getting permission to be there in the first place as the walk I did had a public footpath that ran parallel to the quarry ,however the farmer at the time when he spotted me mistook me for someone up to know good and duly ordered me off, fair enough I though but what a good opportunity I could have had, I still walked past the quarry and checked the owl out but I didn't stop ,however I decided one day to go a different route and while doing that I spotted some Mink on the resovoir,i got some shots of the mink and i then had the dilemma on whether I should report them, I think I had a bit of a debate on them on the forum as to report or not ,however I did report them and in doing so I had to give them a grid reference number were I met up with the local LEA warden to give him the exact location, on meeting with him I found out that the land could possibly belong to the local water board, and after lots of phone calls and letters I was eventually told if the farmer lets me on the land I could go on as they owned it but he leased some of it,a meeting with said farmer and his nephew with my intentions got me my wish ,I was on the land with permission, ever since that meeting and day I don't think I have missed a week were I have not been to visit the owls, sorry to bore you but now on to the photographing side ,I was finding I was getting plenty of shots of the owl on the rock face and ledges but never in the open ,but I wasn't bothered as I always got pretty close and was always happy with that, fast forward a bit more now were I was contacted by a workshop photographer who enquired about my little owl location and basically told me I have a fantastic opportunity as these owls accept you and it shows in the shots you are getting ,knowing I didn't have all the gear to get some of the shots I so on the internet etc i just couldn't get motivated to have a go at it,so another fast forward to this summer, with the help of a few people i finally got the motivation to have a go and this was while i had a kingfisher project going on as well i do work full time and have a family believe or not but i knew i had to commit to this as a long term project, with the help of Mike(killy) we set up a trail cam to check what was going on in the quarry ,i knew that i had two birds in there as i spotted them regular so i was confident it was the owls territory ,a feeding station was set up with a small supply of meal worms and after looking at footage for weeks with nothing but magpies and badgers we finally watched our first footage of a owl coming to the feeding station and that was the beginning of July , since then i go down to the quarry before and after work every day ,the next issue as it is still now is getting the owls in daylight and this is were i can say i am most up to date ,just going down every night in hope that the daylight shots start coming ,what i will also add is that i did know the location of the owls nest and chicks but decided against trying to get shots ,plus it was a good walk away from the feeding station, if you have a got this far then thank you for taking time and reading my small intro on to how i have got to this point with the Little owls , i hope i can update with pics and i little info regular but weather and wildlife don't always do what you want ,but hers hoping.......Forgot to add the set i am posting are from Saturday
Little owl August 11th by den9112, on Flickr
Little owl August 11th by den9112, on Flickr
Little owl August 11th_ by den9112, on Flickr
 
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Thank you Dennis for all that information. I really like your owl shots, they are just amazing. Great job and you can be proud of it! Well done!!!
 
Top marks for persistence den, personally I like some background information so thanks for taking the time to put the post together.

Looking forward to seeing what you can come up with over the coming weeks
 
Nice one Den. Thanks for the info.

The moss covered branch is working well and they all look nice and sharp.

Despite what you probably think I do enjoy see your better Lowl shots. Its much better seeing them all in one post like this rather than in multiple threads.

I have found two sites this year for lowls both nesting sites. I gave up trying for any shots because although they were both on local farms and use to regular disturbance, they just would not come into the open until after dark.

Well done with getting them where you want them I appreciate how difficult it can be.

How about some wider angle shots showing some of the quarry or some low down ones showing some ground cover for scale.
 
That was a great read Den and as my other post really look forward to following this
 
That was an interesting read Dennis so thanks for sharing ... Its good to see how far you come since it was not that long ago that you were photographing these Owls on the ledge in the quarry ... keep up the good work and it will be interesting to see how this project unfolds :)
 
Thanks for sharing. Enjoyed that. And lovely captures. Lovely little birds they are.
 
Well done Den and good to have all that background information

Stan
 
Interesting read Den thank you, your hardwork is paying dividends (y)
Great shots as always (y)
 
Thanks for sharing the info, very interesting, they are lovely.
 
Those last 3 are by far the best you have posted so far Dennis ... Looks like the light has finally been on your side ... perfect exposure, detail and colour ... well done indeed mate (y)
 
Nice to read about how you came to be able to photograph them, my fave is the one looking up, i love it when they do that (y)
 
Thanks Heidi ,I didn't have the best of days yesterday ,I had my set up and new perches ripped down and strewn around, I left at 3.00pm after putting them up, but three hours later it 6.00pm the damage had been done, I have had three incidents while starting the project and looking back all three have happened midweek in the afternoon, but it don't deter me in fact I makes me more determined and I will eventually spot who's doing it.
 
Hi Mike ,its hit and miss but i think i know the problem as its improving ,i always had a neoprene cover on the lens ,and when i was photographing in the rain it obviously got wet and a never took it off ,and it as affected the AF/MF switch which must have got damp,i have since removed it and kept the lens in a warm room and the switch is now responding a lot better.were as before nothing happened and like i said the last two nights its been fine were i can swutch from man to auto now and it works were last week it didnt.
 
A fascinating story Dennis, you have obviously put a lot of time & effort into your project & you are now getting the rewards from that, its also gutting to hear that someone is trying to spoil your hard work & i hope you can sort it, the best of luck, by the way the shots are class.
 
Thanks Den,i have been back today and I have noticed my toy water pistol as gone missing, it was my magpie deterrent, looking more likely to be kids now, but you never know.
 
Great images Den, great job (y) and I hope no one will disturb your hard work in the future
 
Great thread this, I like following your progress Dennis.
 
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Alan you don't need to post links ,I know Austin Thomas and I also know the equipment he uses, unfortunately I don't have that equipment and never will be able to afford it,i did mention in my first post that I so images that I know I will not be able to emulate but I am having a good go with what I have, posting links looks like your are are saying yours are not good have a look at this ,and thats my opinion. You did it with my kingfisher shots were you posted a link,i am not being funny alan but it just spoils it for me when you do that ..as I said that's my personal opinion on it ,I appreciate you reading my post but the links are not necessary.
 
den said:
Alan you don't need to post links ,I know Austin Thomas and I also know the equipment he uses, unfortunately I don't have that equipment and never will be able to afford it,i did mention in my first post that I so images that I know I will not be able to emulate but I am having a good go with what I have, posting links looks like your are are saying yours are not good have a look at this ,and thats my opinion. You did it with my kingfisher shots were you posted a link,i am not being funny alan but it just spoils it for me when you do that ..as I said that's my personal opinion on it ,I appreciate you reading my post but the links are not necessary.
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Den you're images are really good..... but, I do feel you've been unduly harsh in your comment... as far as I'm aware, Alan has always praised your images... no one of us is that good that we still can't aspire to be better....
 
Solo man said:
Den you're images are really good..... but, I do feel you've been unduly harsh in your comment... as far as I'm aware, Alan has always praised your images... no one of us is that good that we still can't aspire to be better....
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As I said its my personal opinion ,what I don't like is the links on my post,i am sure I am entitled to say that,Alan could have sent that to me via a PM
 
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den said:
As I said its my personal opinion ,what I don't like is the links on my post,i am sure I am entitled to say that,Alan could have sent that to me via a PM
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Fair comment Den....
But, not everyone has heard of 'big' names in bird/wildlife photography...
As you say, it's your thread, so your opinion.....:)
Doesn't detract from your really good images though...
 
Alan is a good friend who is not frightened of voicing his opinion and I am sure and hopeful he will appreciate my honest reply ,I just don't like the link ,nothing else , believe me I do know Austin and his little owl sight which is in Formby,and I also know how he got the shots ,and believe me I will never be able to afford the set ,if my comment comes across as a bit harsh then I apologise to Alan but I just felt a bit strong about it when I so it and duly replied straight away and it also comes of the back of a thread I started which also got a bit spoilt which had nothing to do with me....This is one occasion were I don't think I can raise the bar unless I win the lottery or sell a kidney,thanks for looking and commented Lee
 
Hi Dennis, sorry if it Pd you off a little it certainly was not my intention. I had no idea you knew of him, but expected so. It was simply to give you some different ideas. Like you I too can not justify the cost of the gear that many of these guys use, but I did say perhaps you could try getting one walking towards you? It doesn't matter how expensive your equipment is to attempt this does it??? I wouldn't expect them to be as good as Austins with his mega money equipment, but that doesn't matter at the end of the day. Any way now I know it annoys you ill post no more ;) on the same token that you said I could have pmd you about the link you could have pmd me saying you didn't like them :p anyway no hard feelings on my part :)
 
Alan McFadyen said:
Hi Dennis, sorry if it Pd you off a little it certainly was not my intention. I had no idea you knew of him, but expected so. It was simply to give you some different ideas. Like you I too can not justify the cost of the gear that many of these guys use, but I did say perhaps you could try getting one walking towards you? It doesn't matter how expensive your equipment is to attempt this does it??? I wouldn't expect them to be as good as Austins with his mega money equipment, but that doesn't matter at the end of the day. Any way now I know it annoys you ill post no more ;) on the same token that you said I could have pmd you about the link you could have pmd me saying you didn't like them :p anyway no hard feelings on my part :)
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Thanks for the response Alan via PM (y)
 
A great read and some fantastic shots Den - well done.

That last one is the pick of the bunch for me. So far.
 
Thanks Phil, I should ,touch wood be getting them earlier ,this shot I think was around 7.45 pm but hopefully it can only get better,the light that is.
 
Good little story and shows what can be achieved if you put the effort in (y)
 
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