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DRwyoming said:
I only visit active nests every three to five days or so to minimize stress but I'm hoping the chicks will start venturing out before too long. I know there will be a period when the chicks are on the nest and the parents are out hunting but I'm hoping for some shots with both the chicks and an adult in the nest or the chicks in their branchling phase.
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You mean a bit like this, albeit with a different species? This was an extraordinary evening almost a year ago.
Barred Owl family 1a.jpg
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Marcus Slade said:
View attachment 17828
I have been trying for years to get some decent flight shots of Barred Owls at a local woodland but the canopy cover and time of day they choose to be active conspire to make that very difficult. I would be happy with a single bird in the viewfinder but last week when this male, in front here, took off the female immediately sprang out of her nest, followed and tried to "put the boot to him". o_O It was late in the evening with fading light, I literally had a split second to react and, in turn, the whole sequence was over in another two seconds. The D6/300mm PF proved the right tool. (1/1000, f4, ISO 12800) Had I been able to react faster still, to have avoided the left wing clip, I'd have been really pleased.
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Love it Marcus brilliant capture. 👏👏
 
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Thanks so much, Dave. Actually, the owlet on the right isn't peaking out from behind the tree but from within it. We've referred to this "knuckle" in the tree in a local woodland as the condo or the "Four Seasons hotel" as the cavity has three different portholes that go all the way through the tree...gotta be sheer luxury for a mother and owlets. At the risk of being a little piggy about this, one final image from that sequence. Could never get all eight eyes or looking at the camera either (my, how greedy we wildlife photographers get).
Barred Owl family 2.jpg
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Marcus Slade said:
We've referred to this "knuckle" in the tree in a local woodland as the condo or the "Four Seasons hotel" as the cavity has three different portholes that go all the way through the tree...gotta be sheer luxury for a mother and owlets
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Very cool nesting tree and great photo opportunities. I like seeing both eyes in the adult in this image.
 
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Marcus Slade said:
Thanks so much, Dave. Actually, the owlet on the right isn't peaking out from behind the tree but from within it. We've referred to this "knuckle" in the tree in a local woodland as the condo or the "Four Seasons hotel" as the cavity has three different portholes that go all the way through the tree...gotta be sheer luxury for a mother and owlets. At the risk of being a little piggy about this, one final image from that sequence. Could never get all eight eyes or looking at the camera either (my, how greedy we wildlife photographers get).
View attachment 17970
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What a great catch and photo. Something caught their attention, a couple of squeaks from your lips may have gotten them to look toward you (and your camera).
 
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Marcus Slade said:
Thanks so much, Dave. Actually, the owlet on the right isn't peaking out from behind the tree but from within it. We've referred to this "knuckle" in the tree in a local woodland as the condo or the "Four Seasons hotel" as the cavity has three different portholes that go all the way through the tree...gotta be sheer luxury for a mother and owlets. At the risk of being a little piggy about this, one final image from that sequence. Could never get all eight eyes or looking at the camera either (my, how greedy we wildlife photographers get).
View attachment 17970
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Fantastic Images Marcus!! 👍👍👍👍
 
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Thanks, really lucky that this nest was located at the bottom of a steep draw. I was able to have my back to the late afternoon sun and it lit the nest up, no flash.
This is another shot from the same location, about 10 days later. This was the last of three trips I made to the nest.

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Visited the nearby Great Horned Owl's nest this morning, got there just before sunrise and had soft light as mom sat on the nest and just about the time the sun climbed over a nearby ridge the chick poked out for a few minutes. I was lucky to get this shot before the sun rose higher and contrast on this blue sky day was just too much with blown out highlights and blocked up shadows. We're supposed to have some rainy/snowy weather early next week so I'll check back in on a day with softer light.

Nikon D5, 600mm f/4 + TC-14 iii, f/8, 1/400", ISO 2000
D51_6197--20210430-Edit.jpg
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And one from twilight without the direct sunlight:

Z62_3482--20210430-Edit.jpg
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Clouds came in with a high overcast and nice light for deep forest shooting so I headed up to check out the Great Horned Owl's nest. The chick is getting a lot bigger and beginning to look more like an owl than a ball of downy feathers.

Nikon D5, 600mm f/4 + TC-14 iii, f/6.3, 1/1250", ISO 2500
D51_8471--20210510-Edit-Edit.jpg
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