A few owl pics
- This topic has 6 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated Feb 11, 2008 at 4:57 pm by
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Got lucky and had my camera ready when this guy decided to let us float by him. He or she was about 100 yards away and I was in a boat. The lens was the beercan 70-210mm. This little lens isn’t pro glass but it sure has been a sweet addition to the bag for $200. I had bought a 400mm sigma APO but the inner glass had a haze so I sent it back even though it seemed to work ok. I’m still looking for a 400mm for under a thousand. BTW has anyone used the Sigma 50-500 (bigma) ex?
The Bigma is a very nice lens. Not as sharp or as vivid in colour as some others but more than capable. Colour and contrast can always be tweeked in PS for some punch. The only *real* cons Im aware of is 1) its weight and 2) its relatively slow to focus. All zooms are though ( HS or not ) and the longer the potential focal range the longer it can take to acquire focus if it ends up searching through the range.
Something to keep in mind is that Sigma just announed a new 120-500 that has both HSM and OS.
While its certain to be more expensive thna the Bigma, it may drive down the price of the Bigma once its in stock and available. So you could opt for the newer edition with both HSM and OS, or take advantage of cost savings when its arrival forces the price of the Bigma down.
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0801/08013103sigma120400.aspbtw it looks like you found a LEO (Long Eared). They can be tough to shoot, typically preferring to remain deep within branches, so getting uncluttered and clear looks can be really tough.
Nice shots Mike. I am a little confused though. John you called that owl a Long Eared Owl and I thought for sure it was a great horned owl. I can’t say I have ever heard of a Long Eared Owl. Anyhow let’s pretend it is a Great Horned Owl so I can tell you a little story. 😉
Great Horned Owls are very territorial espeacially when it comes to their nests. Well about two or three weeks ago this young guy in Northern Montana tried to get closer to one to get a picture of it and the thing kicked the livin’ crap out of the guy. Ended up putting him in the hospital! That is the thing about a lot of these raptors that we all need to remember is that they may look all cute and fuzzy but they are a wild bird and they will go to great lengths to protect what is theirs. My wife and I have both been attacked by a Goshawk up by our home. Talk about an adrenaline rush that you don’t want to repeat!
Anyhow, that is just a little bird story since I don’t seem to have any fish ones these days.
Joel
Yea this one was deep in a tangle of branches. I might have gotten some better lighting shots had my fishing partner not Hootie hooo’d when I lowered my camera. That “somewhat sharp” in flight shot was all luck as I just start pointing, following, and holding the button down.
Earlier that weekend we saw a young Bald eagle but so far they aren’t boat friendly at all. About 2 to 300 yards is as close as I can get to an eagle. This young one in particular is an absolute GIANT with what has to a 6′ wing span! I hope I never piss it off.I’ve been watching the Bigma for a while but I’m holding out right now. I’d hoped to move up to a 300mm G and a tele but it’s getting further and further outa reach since the A700 release.#%
It could very well be a GHO Joel. I find distinguishing between GHOs, LEO and SEOs pretty difficult even with good looks at them. The “tufts” of hair atop their heads are really just tufts of hair and not ears at all just to add to the confusion but are often used to id them.
GHO’s are pretty aggressive and are pretty much the top of the food chain in the owl families. They’ll go after pretty much anything and yes, that includes people who get too close, especially during nesting season which is starting now (Feb). I know of a few “photogs” who have lost parts of their scalps to GHOs.
I have better pictures on my HDD of each but these are all I have online atm.
Great Horned
Long Eared
Mike.
Using a boat is often a better way to approach wildlife. For some reason they dont associate boats with “danger” in the say way they do a person inching towards them. Example: I can usually get pretty close to Herons when in a canoe. Getting within 50ft when on foot is failrly rare.I agree about the boats John. Some boats are better then others even. A drap canoe style boat seems to work best. Square bright boats with sparkling gel coat like my Supreme, not so much. I wish they’d sell a drab colored boat but they won’t. I could almost pet the wildlife in the olive and tan Riverhawk boat I had.
Nice shots, are you calling them in or hunting on foot? I’ve got a few places I think calling them could be pretty productive. Last year I was fishing a run and kept hearing something behind me. When I turned to look there was an adult Owl (smaller species) feeding two very small ones in a hollowed out hole in a big tree. I had elected to leave the camera that day because I was wading. I should have at least carried my P&S. Stuuupid!! Owls are pretty incredible birds and rarely seem by most people. When I’ve been fortunate enough to be in the company of them they don’t seem to be too intimidated by human presence. One actually let me get really close a few years ago but all I had was a P&S.
Here are a few of those shots.
There’s a Heron nesting site on the river I fish most of the time. In the spring you could really get some nice shots there but they are high in the trees. It seems like every now and them one of them will land in the wrong nest and all hell breaks loose.
Hunting them on foot. This winter has been pretty unproductive though, not sure why that is but numbers are down.
Calls should work. I know people who bait them with live mice so a mouse squeeker or cotton tail call should work. At the least I have in the past gotten them to turn and look at me using a mouse squeeker. I have some GHOs in the woodlot behind my house, I hear them a couple times a week but havent located them yet. Ive been toying with the idea of trying a call on them but short of digital MP3s the only Owl call Ive seen available commercially is a Barred Owl (“Who cooks for you”) which is sold for and used by Turkey hunters.
forgot to add in the previous reply that if you do opt for a 300 f4 prime, that will take a TC well giving you a little over 400mm effectively.
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