Hi and welcome to my Blog, my name is Paul Riddle and I live in south Leicestershire, UK. Back in August 2007 my quest began to locate as many local Little Owl territories as possible. The driving force was a reported decline in the uk numbers so I thought I would do my bit and conduct a study in my area. After 7 years and countless hours out in the field I have detected over 200 different sites. With a thirst for a greater understanding of the owls a more comprehensive monitoring and nest box programme then commenced. This also now includes monitoring the local and very sparse population of Barn Owls, please pop back occasionally and catch up with the life and times of my owls and any other wildlife that I come across. I hope you enjoy your visit!!!

Tuesday, 13 September 2011

Another expulsion!

During last nights venture out one of the owls allowed me some really close up views, during this period I took the opportunity to experiment with a few different camera settings. I was attempting to achieve a shallow depth of field where the owls eyes are in focus and the rest of its body and the background is nicely diffused (out of focus). 

This owl was a perfect subject, it just perched there doing.......well nothing! Whilst I was trying out a few different things it started twitching in an unusual manner, it seemed to be gasping for a breath and kept opening it's beak, it was at this stage I realised it was regurgitating a pellet!

I just kept my finger on the shutter and rattled off a sequence of around 25 images, in this image (below) the tip of the pellet can just be seen!


Here it comes.....


A quick shake of the head.......


And pop.........out it came!



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6 comments:

  1. Unknown13 September 2011 at 22:31

    Your photo's are superb. The effort you're putting in watching these beautiful animals is uplifting.

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  2. Unknown13 September 2011 at 22:36

    Do you think you could add a page on what to look for when finding Little Owls?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Stevie Evans14 September 2011 at 00:52

    excellent close camera work Paul

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  4. Millhouse Photography14 September 2011 at 09:34

    These are wonderful images Paul. I always enjoy looking at your work.

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  5. Richard Pegler14 September 2011 at 09:54

    Brilliant work again Paul. Well done!!!

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  6. Paul Riddle16 September 2011 at 17:50

    Thanks all for your comments.
    Dave H, I will do some thing soon!

    ReplyDelete

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