I took this photograph 50 minutes before sunrise today, which made this an incredibly difficult image from a photography vantage point. Taking this kind of photo was my goal when I headed out in the dark this morning. Here are some of the things I needed to have happen:
- You need a full moon, or almost full moon. Thus, there are not too many opportunities per year.
- You needed to find an owl in the dark.
- The owl must be willing to sit on the very top of a tree such that I could line up the bird with the moon.
- I needed all my thermal clothes. It was -9F when I took this photograph, and I have no idea what the chill factor was except to note 15 minutes hiking around outside of the car was plenty. It was plenty cold.
The owl never spooked during my time with the bird. It was willing to let me be within 15 yards, but I needed to back off to get the proper moon angles, etc.
I may be crazy as an owl, but I stayed out till 10 am, and ultimately saw seven owls … five Great Gray Owls and two Northern Hawk Owls. After all these “good shots”, I think it about time for a “owl bloopers post”. I have many! Stay tuned.
Northern Hawk Owl Demands Equal Time!
Great Gray Owl Take-Off!
Excellent, thanks for sharing!
Awesome shots as usual Richard. I saw on FB this afternoon that a snowy owl has made its way to southwestern WV. This is actually the second one I know of as one was observed further up in northwestern WV. The first one had to be captured for rehabilitation, but this current owl seems to be health and actively hunting in an agricultural area.
Keep warm, but keep birding and sharing your experiences.
Go find the WV owl. Saw that you are known as Principal Bird! LOL!