Yet another Little Owl thread

The W

The W

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Seeing as everyone else is on the bandwagon!

I have a pair of Little Owls I've photographed on-and-off for a few years. Up to now, they've tended to favour high perches (tops of trees, tops of barns) that hasn't always made for easy photography. Although I've known their nest hole location since the first summer I found them, circumstance means this is the first year I've followed them in the run up to fledging period. Currently they have at least two young mouths to feed so they've been fairly active in seeking out prey items in the grass.


Little Owl by Paul Whitbread, on Flickr

I was able to use this time they spend on the ground to my advantage and as of this weekend and got them to start taking a few meal-worms. At first this was from a pot on the ground, but on Sunday they started to use a perch in front of my hide.


Little Owl by Paul Whitbread, on Flickr

Hopefully this will be the start of a productive period, and I can do some experimentation to perfect the setup.
 
Paul, hope you don't mind a couple of suggestions. I think it would look a lot better if you could use a more natural looking perch, such as a large branch of wood, rather than a piece of 2x2, and also try to hide the pot with Mealworm. This can be done by using a small container (I use the pots my spices come in when I order an Indian takeaway) and screw it to the back of the perch so that it does not show in the photograph. Keep going - as Den said in the thread I started of my photos yesterday - "they are addictive".
 
Absolutely. It's very much a work-in-progress. Now that I've got them interested in mealworms, I hope I can transition to a nicer perch in a better position.
 
A quick update:

Took my dad down to have a go at photographing the yesterday, and of course they barely showed up. Just as well I didn't tell him it was his father's day gift! Went back today and got treated to reasonable periods of one hanging around on my perch. I hope to use this weekend to try some nicer perches. The young are getting bolder about approaching the nest exit, so their branching period much be close.

Little Owl by Paul Whitbread, on Flickr

One challenge I do face is that I'm working a north-south narrow strip between a hedgerow and the field of crop, posing a side-lighting challenge. There's a lack of room to angle the hide in relation to the perch for the idea lighting, while also getting a desirable backdrop.
 
Had another good showing by the female today. I've still got stuff to figure out but I'm starting to get a handle on how best to work the situation.


Incoming! by Paul Whitbread, on Flickr

I've now shifted stuff about to avoid the mixed hedge-sky backdrop.
 
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Sadly for now it'll have to be back to Bird on a Stick stuff...


Bird on a stick by Paul Whitbread, on Flickr

After a no-show when I took my Dad along mid-week, he returned yesterday and the owl played ball, with plenty of showing while the light was good. Sadly my hide isn't large enough for enough free movement to attempt flight shots. The juveniles still haven't built up the courage to leave the nest hole.
 
The W said:
Had another good showing by the female today. I've still got stuff to figure out but I'm starting to get a handle on how best to work the situation.


Incoming! by Paul Whitbread, on Flickr

I've now shifted stuff about to avoid the mixed hedge-sky backdrop.
Click to expand...

That is a good one Paul, you have nailed the eyes, and just the right amount of motion blurr finishes it off nicely.
 
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The W said:
Had another good showing by the female today. I've still got stuff to figure out but I'm starting to get a handle on how best to work the situation.


Incoming! by Paul Whitbread, on Flickr

I've now shifted stuff about to avoid the mixed hedge-sky backdrop.
Click to expand...

This is a real stunner, love the movement of the wings as it really brings something to the shot and conveys a sense of movement

Looks like you nailed the eye too, spot on!
 
The owls have still been showing well, although I still haven't truly figured out to best work the site with regards to the light and backgrounds or managed to switch to the use of a photogenic perch.


Owl on a bucket by Paul Whitbread, on Flickr

Flight shots are a frustrating excise in generating lots of out-of-focus images, but rather satisfying when it comes together...


Low level flying by Paul Whitbread, on Flickr

As of this weekend the owlets have started to explorer outside of the nest hole. It's hard to count them but it's a least three (one was in the tree while two looked out the hole). For now they're staying high up, away from ideal photo opportunities.


Owlet by Paul Whitbread, on Flickr

Little Owls are fun to watch because of all the little things they do. Like a good fluff'n'shake.


Noo offica, I 'ave noot beeen drinkin'/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people//]Paul Whitbread, on Flickr[/url]
 
Ditto, I have just found this thread. Clearly a very photogenic bird. The bird in flight image in post No.6 is a standout image to me. Lots of the perch shots are also very nice. One or two of the early shots look a bit dark but that is probably my monitor ?

Lovely set of images overall though.
 
Thanks for the comments. I agree a couple could stand to be a bit brighter. When I get the chance, I revisit yhem in Lightroom.
 
Unfortunately my owl project for the year has come to a premature end. I went down to the site last weekend, and found the nest box covered in a swarm of honey bees. The farm owners kindly called out their bee keeper, but it was too late. The box was host to a large colony and enough wax that the bee keeper estimated it had happened mid week. A couple of abandoned eggs sat at the bottom of the box. The little owl monograph I have suggests that only about 1-2% of pairs attempt second broods to replace lost ones, so it's unlikely there's going to be any young this year. The owls have already dispersed from the nesting tree to other parts of their territory so I'm expecting my photo opportunities to be limited.
 
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