Northern Saw-whet Owl

Gallery: AvianPosted November 26, 20171,096 views3 comments

Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus)

Gilbert Water Ranch, AZ
Date: November 23, 2017, 11:03 am
Equipment: Nikon D7200, AF-S Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR @ 320mm, Induro tripod, RRS BH-55
Exposure: ISO 800, Aperture priority spot meter, 1/250th @ f/10
Raw, PS CC 2017 on Mac, full frame

Although this small owl has a range covering most of the Lower 48 States it is rare in AZ below the Colorado Plateau. This is only the fifth one I’ve seen and photographed in AZ in 23 years here, and the first discovered at the Water Ranch. Unlike the larger owls saw-whets rarely flush when discovered. The hardest aspect of getting this photo was finding a suitable opening through all the twigs and branches blocking clear view. I ended up with the camera about 2.5 feet off the ground.

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Comments

3 comments

Comment posted by Hans Overduin on November 26, 2017 at 11:34 AM

I love this peep-through - nice species as well, never seen one. Nice work on the techs ! Cheers, Hans

Registered on August 31, 2011, 491 Posts, 3807 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on November 26, 2017 at 1:02 PM

Excellent, Richard. The smaller owls are always incredibly cute and this one is no exception. The bit of light in the right eye really adds a lot to the image. Did you try a vertical crop on this? I was playing with it on the screen and it seemed to work to de-emphasize the oof stuff on the sides.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Charles Gangas on November 27, 2017 at 12:30 PM

Well captured Rich, you found the perfect window for a very good look at this little guy.

Registered on August 12, 2009, 544 Posts, 2414 Comments