Burrowing Owl adult

Gallery: AvianPosted February 21, 2010179 views24 comments

Athene cunicularia

Taken in Davis County, Utah last July, the adult had come out of the burrow and was keeping an eye on the 4 juveniles.

I like this for the background as much as I do the very early morning light on the owl.

The owl is perched on a piece of broken concrete culvert, most likely left over from when the Antelope Island Causeway was rebuilt after the flooding of the Great Salt Lake in the 1980's. See here for more information. Many of the areas where Ron Dudley and I photograph today were under water and destroyed. So the owl is also perched on a bit of history.

D200, lens resting on pickup window, f6.3, 1/320, ISO 250, Nikkor 200-400mm VR F4 with 1.4x TC at 400mm, 58% of the original image, natural light, not baited. I cleaned up some OOF vegetative materials just below the owl's tail.

Please view the larger image to evaluate sharpness and detail.

As always, I sincerely appreciate your comments & critiques. Thank you for looking.

Comments

24 comments

Comment posted by Sally King on February 21, 2010 at 10:23 AM

That light and the way the owl is squinting into it is wonderful. I too love the background with the interesting suggestions of vegetation. Excellent details as always. I would not have known the perch was broken concrete if you hadn't said it was. Another superb image.

Registered on December 2, 2008, 416 Posts, 4450 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on February 21, 2010 at 11:57 AM

He/she looks a bit tired. I like the bg a lot in this image also Mia

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Leggett on February 21, 2010 at 1:33 PM

Nice imace, Mia. The bird looks like it's still half asleep

Registered on July 21, 2004, 706 Posts, 3233 Comments

Comment posted by Ron McCombe on February 21, 2010 at 1:36 PM

Cracking image Mia,

I love the look the owl's giving off, very sharp, good composition great light and great out of focus background

Ron

Registered on November 16, 2009, 190 Posts, 207 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on February 21, 2010 at 2:04 PM

Mia, the light on this is fantastic! (But of course you already know that

). I really like the stare down she is giving you...better not mess with her kids! Terrific shot

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on February 21, 2010 at 3:03 PM

Mia, love the light and the BG as you do. The way you have the image composed I can't really tell what the bird is perched on and it looks natural enough to me to work well here. I like the half-open sleepy-eyed look on the owl. Very nice.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Daniel & Loana on February 21, 2010 at 4:23 PM

Absolutely wonderful. Perfect details and BG. The larger version is incredible!

D&L

Registered on October 7, 2008, 166 Posts, 3044 Comments

Comment posted by Monica Siri on February 21, 2010 at 4:24 PM

Mia,
I love that look, don't know if asleep or thinking. Very nice background and morning light.

Registered on September 20, 2009, 132 Posts, 3764 Comments

Comment posted by Matt Shellenberg on February 21, 2010 at 4:59 PM

Mia, the soft lighting in this image is awesome. Excellent job on the composition and really nice detail, especially considering how much this is cropped. Beautiful image!!!

Registered on February 6, 2008, 168 Posts, 3118 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on February 21, 2010 at 7:57 PM

The lighting on the owl against that dark and intriguing background is awesome Mia and is especially impressive in your larger version. I remember this adult well and have many photos of it but I don't recall getting this almost "oriental" effect in the background as nicely as you have here. I have to go back and peruse a bit I guess... Very nicely done.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Willison on February 21, 2010 at 8:13 PM

Exceptional techs, Mia. I can always spot your image in the thumbs. Really like the slight etch of the bg.

Registered on April 10, 2009, 292 Posts, 3967 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Lotito on February 21, 2010 at 8:17 PM

Wonderful Owl shot!

I keep looking for the ones I hear all night to no avail.

Registered on June 26, 2009, 181 Posts, 1558 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on February 21, 2010 at 9:24 PM

Yep, the warm light and dreamy background are outstanding. The low angle puts us right into his world.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on February 21, 2010 at 9:31 PM

Mia,

You went from one great Burrowing Owl state to another. The birds eyes and look give a sense of caution and concern. Too bad the perch isn't natural, but the background is just WILD!

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Kevin Thompson on February 21, 2010 at 10:27 PM

Very nice Mia

Registered on March 15, 2005, 114 Posts, 2639 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on February 21, 2010 at 10:44 PM

My thanks for the comments thus far on this image.

Ron, you were probably busy with your coffee travel mug for the 20 seconds that this precise light occured

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on February 22, 2010 at 6:06 AM

Nice one Mia - love the low angle of the light and those oof weeds almost look like seaweed in an underwater shot

cheers
Rob

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on February 22, 2010 at 7:38 AM

gorgeous Mia, I really like the background too. for me it has a sort of Halloween feel--not sure why. wonderful light and detail, and the sleepy look from the owl is so nice. perch works fine for me--it doesn't jump out at me as concrete.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on February 22, 2010 at 10:48 AM

The large version of this image is particularly impressive, Mia. I agree with you: thie lighting and background are outstanding attributes. Of course, again you've captured a beautiful pose with the owl really looking at us. I see no trace of removal of the OOF materials. One thing I do find peculiar is how well the left foot blends into the concrete. It looks to me like mainly the effect of the lighting.

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Saunders on February 22, 2010 at 12:49 PM

A beautiful shot of the adult Mia. The BG is great here too. Just a lovely setting.

Registered on February 6, 2008, 321 Posts, 3035 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on February 22, 2010 at 1:07 PM

Very nice Mia, good light, good pose, good exposure all add up.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on February 22, 2010 at 6:38 PM

The light is so very nice and the owl looks quite tranquil. i really like the bg branches on the left and the amazing eyes. Since you were cloning anyway I would have clone out the oof twigs in the front right corner as well.I look forward to finding some of these this summer. I took your advise and will take a trip with Pasco Aud Soc. in March to find some.

This is beautiful

Registered on June 30, 2009, 300 Posts, 5051 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on February 23, 2010 at 11:47 AM

I fell far behind on my critiques while in Panama. This shot is a gem, Mia. The background adds a lot to your usual impeccable technical work and use of light.

I may have already told you this: If you haven't already, be sure to read Terry Tempest Williams' extraordinary Refuge, written (in part) about the high water even in Great Salt Lake that you mention.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by Satie Sharma on February 24, 2010 at 6:15 AM

Lovely light and background, Mia. I like the drooping eyes too. Nice detail as well. A great shot overall.

Registered on November 11, 2003, 189 Posts, 5335 Comments