Great Gray Owl Futility

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mrt

mrt

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I got to spend two hours and forty-five minutes with a GGO hunting a field from many different perches. He is probably a male looking for voles to bring to his lovely wife and owlet brood. Unfortunately for all of them, despite many attempts, he failed to provide. You can't help but feel sorry.

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Thanks very much Rich. Upon reflection, he was probably so tolerant since he was so desperate to feed the family.
 
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The bird may not have been successful but you certainly were. It worked out better for you that he hung around and kept switching perches. If he'd caught something he'd have probably just taken it home and not come back.
 
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NorthernFocus said:
The bird may not have been successful but you certainly were. It worked out better for you that he hung around and kept switching perches. If he'd caught something he'd have probably just taken it home and not come back.
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True, but you gotta feel sorry for the folks back home. I did feel lucky to not have him freak out because I was there.
 
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Great series, congrats. There is a photographic/philosophic issue for me with the final image. That is, I would have used context-aware fill to get rid of that bit of vegetation under the bird's chin. I know we photographers differ re our philosophy regarding such details.
 
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GrandNagus50 said:
Great series, congrats. There is a photographic/philosophic issue for me with the final image. That is, I would have used context-aware fill to get rid of that bit of vegetation under the bird's chin. I know we photographers differ re our philosophy regarding such details.
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Thanks GrandNagus50. I appreciate your feedback. I actually liked that piece of vegetation. It emphasizes how low he's flying and it almost looks like he's headed for it. Generally, I agree about distracting details, and do make an effort to get rid of them, so philosophically I think we're on the same page.
 
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mrt said:
I got to spend two hours and forty-five minutes with a GGO hunting a field from many different perches. He is probably a male looking for voles to bring to his lovely wife and owlet brood. Unfortunately for all of them, despite many attempts, he failed to provide. You can't help but feel sorry.
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Nice attempts -- but you were just off of the line of glide path.

It is easier of the birds are bred in captivity and trained to fly to bait -- try lying down in front of the handler or very close to them or where they place the bait -- you want to be at eye-level or below. AND even then the Owl will rarely fly directly over you. Z9 images........

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When perched Owls are endlessly looking around or attracted to the noise or sight of something that might attack them - this means having to use a high fps to catch them just at the moment they are looking at you

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Andy Miller Photo UK said:
Nice attempts -- but you were just off of the line of glide path -- try lying down in front of the handler or very close to them or where they place the bait -- you want to be at eye-level or below. AND even then the Owl will rarely fly directly over you.

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No handler, no bait, high grass (very wet), tons of mosquitoes, and a fence around the field. You get what the owl gives you. But I agree, lower is often better.
 
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