We picked up a fair amount of rain over the weekend, particularly in the overnight hours. This has a dampening effect on our local owls ability to hunt. After all, “who” likes to hang out in a rainstorm. When the weather forecast showed extremely heavy ground fog after midnight the past two nights, and light winds each morning, I thought one of my friendly neighborhood Great Gray Owls might be out hunting long after sunrise. I hit the jackpot both mornings, and even left a hunting owl this morning just before high noon. Does anyone ever leave a hot fishing spot when the fish are biting? I did!
Each morning I arrived in Sax-Zim Bog long after sunrise (not normal), but I needed to have some ground fog burn off if I was going to have a chance at seeing anything. As often stated before in this blog, think like a bird when heading out in the woods … and find the food sources.
There are quite a lot of photographs in this post. Sorry (no I’m not!). It will give you an idea what the last two mornings were like in terms of owling. I spent close to six hours watching “old gray”. When the sun came out in bursts, the colors were amazing. The Tamarack needles are beginning to have their golden glow; the aspens are also yellow.
Day #1: Fall Colors & Ground Fog
Day #2: Tamarack Take-Off 1 (and a few Spruce)
Day #2: Tamarack Take-Off 2 (and a few Spruce)
Day #2: The Claw! (make certain you maximize the first image of the talon)
Day #2: Cedar Tree Camouflage
What road do you recommend to see owls at Sax Zim Bog?
The best roads will always change with the seasons and years, but my favorites in the Bog are Admiral, McDavitt, Yoki and Hwy 7. Download a birding map from the Friends of Sax Zim Bog web site.
I’m sitting at my computer at 6:40 am having just responded to a lens question from this post. I did take 10 minutes off from responding when my entire Great Horned Owl family started screeching, hooting and beak clacking right across from my driveway next to Amity Creek. I was amazed the juvenile owls are still in the territory, and apparently being occasionally fed by the parents on October 6th. The beak clacking indicates to me one of the youngsters had a meltdown when it did not get any food, and a sibling was fed instead. Beak clacking by an owl means a bird is very upset!
Yes, that talon photo is wonderful, as are the rest. Are you using your Sony a6300? If so, what lens? I have the same Sony, but I’ve only aspired to do bird photography at this point. You may be inspiring me to bring along my camera, not just my binoculars!
Susan et al: When photographing owls I almost always am using my Sony A6300 camera. The combination of a bird which lets me get somewhat close to it w/o spooking and the fact owls are “bigger birds” means I do not need the extreme reach of my super zoom camera. My lens of choice which I love is the Sony 70-350 mm lens. While the retail price of this lens is just under $1,000, by waiting and purchasing at the proper moment my price was $750. Here is a link to a lens review from Digital Camera World. https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/reviews/sony-e-70-350mm-f45-63-g-oss-review
Thanks for sharing your equipment info, including a link to the lens!!
Great pictures. Great capture of the claw. I love reading your posts.
Very Nice. Thanks,
Don
Astounding photos, the detail of the wing configuration at takeoff is fascinating. Each individual feather has a job to play. And the talons are like stilettos! Both thinner and longer than I expected. Thanks for sharing!
these are simply amazing. and that talon is incredible! thanks so much for all your birding and sharing with us