Monday, January 13, 2020

Finally! After Two Years I Finally Saw The Owl I've Been Patiently Looking For!

Eastern Screech Owl in context. (click to enlarge)
Nikon Z7; Tamron 150-600mm f/5-6.3 G2 lens @ 600mm; 1/125th sec. @ f/11; ISO 400
Last Friday, I met my two wildlife photography friends in Williamsburg, Virginia for breakfast.  We do this several times a year.  Afterward, usually we drive the short distance over to the Colonial Parkway, which runs between Yorktown, Williamsburg and Jamestowne Settlement (1607).  We normally can find several kinds of birds and raptors to photograph as well as other interesting subjects.  Its still too early for the ospreys to return but we did see four Bald Eagles—three adults and a juvenile.  It seems it is about time the females lay their eggs for the upcoming season.

Crop of the top image.  Eastern Screech Owl (click to enlarge)
Nikon Z7; Tamron 150-600mm f/5-6.3 G2 lens @ 600mm; 1/125th sec. @ f/11; ISO 400
On the loop road that meanders around Jamestowne Island, there is a small, innocuous hollow tree that houses an Eastern Screech Owl.  Each time I go to the area (many times a year), I always stop and look to see if the owl is perched on the side of the hollow tree in which it lives.  I'll sit and wait, sometimes for an hour, just to see if he pops his head up.  In the past two years, I have yet to see him but I've been shown images other photographs have made.  I knew he was there.  He just never showed himself to me.

 The image below is what I've always found when looking for this bird.

This is what I normally saw when I looked for the owl over the past two years.  Persistence paid off, however.
Evidently, luck was on our side as when the three of us pulled up we saw a photographer amonst the trees photographing this owl so excitedly we stopped and joined him.

 The little owl was mostly stationary with his eyes tightly closed.  In the time I was there I saw him slightly move his head once and he opened his right eye about 1/5th of the way for about a second or two.  I reacted quickly enough to make some images of the eye slightly open.  These are the images I like best from my time watching him.

(click to enlarge)
Nikon Z7; Tamron 150-600mm f/5-6.3 G2 lens @ 550mm; 1/640th sec. @ f/8; ISO 1250

(click to enlarge)
Nikon Z7; Tamron 150-600mm f/5-6.3 G2 lens @ 600mm; 1/640th sec. @ f/11; ISO 2200
What started as a ordinary January day turned out to be a memorable one for me.  I count myself lucky to have had the opportunity to photography this beautiful creature.  As I said, persistence and perseverance paid off.

Join me over at Instagram @dennisamook or my website, www.dennismook.com. 

 Thanks for looking. Enjoy! 

 Dennis A. Mook 

 All content on this blog is © 2013-2020 Dennis A. Mook. All Rights Reserved. Feel free to point to this blog from your website with full attribution. Permission may be granted for commercial use. Please contact Mr. Mook to discuss permission to reproduce the blog posts and/or images.
at

4 comments:

  1. JeffJanuary 13, 2020 at 7:55 PM

    Dennis:

    I admire you and all wildlife photographers. While I do "love" wildlife and wildlife photography, I am what I call an "opportunistic wildlife photographer." What that means is, if the wildlife is in the area and I encounter it, I will stalk for a while and try to capture some shots. I will not, however, return day-after-day or year-after-year trying to "catch" the shot.

    I am more into landscape photography where the mountains can almost always be found where they were just a few weeks ago! LOL - thanks for sharing your quest.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Wandering LensmanJanuary 13, 2020 at 10:27 PM

      Jeff, I’m not too different from you. I don’t often photograph wildlife, birds, birds-in-flight and such. My two photography buddies spend most of their photographic efforts photographing raptors, waterfowl, etc. When I’m with them I’ll do the same. Sometimes I may do it by myself, but not nearly as much as I photograph landscapes and travel. I can really appreciate the Mark Smiths, Scott Bournes and Steve Perrys of the world. They are extraordinary wildlife and bird photographers. Lastly, I have a degree in geology and I can attest the mountains won’t move often or much! Lol. Thanks for writing.

      Delete
  2. UnknownJanuary 17, 2020 at 5:27 PM

    Dennis, Thank you so much for pointing out the owl today on Jamestowne Island. I have captured all the big birds of the area with the exception of owls, my one frustration. I am in agreement with comment from Jeff. My husband and I have taken a number of trips out west with Grand Tetons tied with Monument Valley at the top. Again thank you. Sheila

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Wandering LensmanJanuary 18, 2020 at 8:26 PM

      Sheila, it was a pleasure to meet you. I’m happy I was able to help. I hope you made some nice images of this little fellow. If there is anything I can do in the future to help, I’ll be happy to.

      Delete