From dawn till dusk.....

The dust has now settled on the hectic and very boozy weekend in Italy, so it was time to get out for a few hours to see how the owl families where I have been keeping a close vigil were getting on. Two different sites were visited and the juveniles were still present at both.

The patient tactics that I have been using with the slow and deliberate introduction of my Landrover is now paying dividends handsomely. As long as the approach drive is done with care and consideration for the owls I can get close........really close!

This juvenile (below) seems to be the most timid of the three at this site, it spends most of its time sat next to an old rabbit hole and as soon as anything spooks it down it goes to hide away!

Although very satisfied with my evenings work and the images captured, this next shot (below) is definitely my favourite from this latest session. The light was just fabulous, a nicely defused and uncluttered background, an excellent perch and the owl held a great pose with full eye contact.

Nothing too special about this next image, not a good posture, no eye contact and the quality is a bit hazy. But the lack of quality is for good reason, it was taken through the windscreen of my Landrover, it is of one of the juveniles when it landed on the bonnet of my Landrover.....told you they were getting use to it!

I am now just keeping my fingers crossed that the weather next week is half decent and that the juveniles hang around long enough for me to exploit the fact that I have a two weeks holiday. I am planning to invest some serious time at these sites, on at least one day I will be there at first light and will hand around until dust, at least FIFTEEN hours. The ultimate aim is to get an image of the parent owls and all 3 of their juveniles.........in the same image!