I couldn’t catch up to this owl inflight, but he few directly to the perch in front of me. Full frame series, priceless!
Then he looked at me like, did you get all that? LOL!
Thanks for stopping by and taking a look!
Life is good and I am blessed!
Kent
I started photographing eagles and owls back in 2010. Ever since I saw the guys on FredMiranda.com posting Great Gray Owls (GGO) on the forum they have been on my bucket list. The closest place to photograph them is Sax Zim Bog in MN. I never made it up there, and then we moved to Texas for 8 years. After retiring and moving back to central Illinois, there was no excuses! A good friend and great photographer invited me to share a room with him and it was on. We planned to drive on Monday 1-1-24 and then chase owls Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and drive back South on Friday. We stayed at Alesches Accommodations. I was a little nervous about the place and sharing a bathroom. I was super pleasantly surprised. What a great place. It is an old converted bible camp. There is a huge shared area and a full kitchen. Super clean and very homey. Everybody staying there were photographers. It was pretty cool to sit around the fire / table with 5 or 6 other photographers, while we all edited our “Photos of the Day” (POTD), sharing locations, and editing tips. Now I need / want the Canon RF 600 f4 LS lens more than ever as my EF 500 is 12 years old and was super slow using it via an EF to RF converter. I was disappointed in the new RF100-500mm I bought. The f 7.1 killed me in the low gray light and ISO was at unacceptable levels (guess I am just spoiled). Don’t get me wrong the 100-500 is a great lens and has a place in my bag, it just needs a ton more available light at 500mm.
Bucket list for the trip, much in order:
Bonus subjects would have been:
I was successfully able to get full frame photos of the first 4! If I can afford to get the RF600mm I will go back. For now, please enjoy these from the trip. Introducing the 4 subjects. More post with in flight series to follow as I get them edited.
Great Gray Owl (GGO): The largest of the owls in North America
The true master of Camouflage!
Norther Hawk Owl (NHO): It is one of the few owls that is neither nocturnal nor crepuscular, being active only during the day, and is about the size of a crow and the only hawk that hunts from the air.
Pine Marten: A carnivore, their body length can range up to 21” and tail length of 10”, and weigh 3 – 3.5 pounds.
Short-tailed Weasel aka Ermine: They are brown in the summer and turn white in winter. Body length 5-7” with a 4-6” tail. Stupid fast little guys
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Life is good and I am blessed.
Kent
The kids are growing up and climbed out of the nest today. It was fun getting to watch and document these two.
Mom always watching over them.
Synchronized nose picking
I am guessing these two will be gone after this weekend.
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Life is good and I am blessed.
Kent
Last month while photographing the Great Horned Owls at White Rock Lake I found a female barred owl sitting in a hole more than likely sitting on eggs.
Tonight after work, I was able to talk Miss Sharon into going back to check on the babies, since I have heard they had hatched and were starting to be visible.
One Owlet 
Two Owlets, I’m hoping there might be a third.
Momma Owl sitting in tree next to the hole in heavy shaded cover.
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Life is good and I am blessed.
Kent
I am a member of Firewheel Golf Club. While playing number 9 on the Traditions 2 years ago the fire engines across the street took off with their sirens basting. Within seconds I heard a pair of barred owls start calling and answering the sirens. I have found them several times since then but could never find their nest hole. That all changed this spring when I was in the left rough / trees when I found this set of eyes watching me. I went right back with my DSRL and was able to capture this image.
Wow what a classic Owl hole. I was all set, my very own Owl hole. Another photographer shared his Great Horned Owls with me, so what the heck I shared this location with him.
I tired really hard to leave the nest alone as I had been coached by my owl mentor to never call females off their eggs.
She was super jumpy as soon as I would roll up to the nest with my camera gear she would exit and fly away. Keep in mind these were taking with a 700mm lens from maybe 75 yards away.
Then I had to travel back to Illinois for a week. The other photographer went to check on the hole and walked up on this and texted me this photo. How SAD!
Not my photo! Tree RAT! Cycle of life, eat or be eaten.
I believe her to be a young mom and not very experienced. I am guessing the male was not helping her or guarding her and the nest like more males do.
Snippet from the web: Nests And Eggs How Many Eggs Do Barred Owls Lay? Barred Owls lay between 1–5 eggs, usually 2–3. They have one brood per year, but if an early clutch is lost, they may lay a second or even third clutch.
So I am hoping she has laid more, but I have not seen the pair while golfing but have heard them twice so I know they are still around.
Babies should be hatching in the next week to ten days, so I’ll try to go check on them next weekend with the camera.
Sad mom.
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Life is good and I am blessed.
Kent