Rewarded

In my previous post I introduced you all to my latest find, Barn Owl site No 14. I did manage a couple of distant record shots of the bird albeit in very poor light. Although the images were nothing to write home about I did really like the setting and some of the perches the owl used, as did some of you judging by your comments.

 

So after work this evening I re-visited the same site to see if I could improve on the previous images. Again the light was appalling and to make matters worse the wind was cutting. In an attempt to get the image I wanted of it coming out of the "pop hole" getting closer than before was the key. My tactics were to creep along the hedgerow until I was close enough for a better image but not so close as to stress the owl. Once I was close enough (about 30 feet away) I backed deep into the hedge and completely out of sight. It was now a case of standing there and hoping it would show? The wind was bitter and straight into my face which made matters very uncomfortable as I wasn't really dressed for the occasion, no gloves, no hat and not even wearing a jacket!!

 

On a couple of occasions I nearly gave up because of the cold, but eventually I was rewarded with a showing just before the light went. Again I was forced to use a high ISO setting, and at F3.2 I managed to achieve a shutter speed of 1/200th of a second @ 300mm.

Click on image for a higher quality view.   

 

Barn Owl site No 14.

The owl sat there for around a minute nonchalantly looking around. It glanced in my direction a couple of times, not because it saw me but more a reaction to the sound of the camera shutter. It then disappeared back into the barn, I think it was put of by the atrocious conditions and decided not to venture out, unlike the idiot with the camera!!

 

The owl is using this barn for roosting purposes only as there is no suitable nesting site or box in it, I think I need to do something about that pretty quickly!

UPDATE............

I found out late last night from my "farmer friend" that the building in question that the Barn Owl is using for a roosting site is to be renovated into a cottage!!! Sadly because of this bad news it now means that my plans to erect a nest box inside have been scuppered. I guess now I'll have to put plan "B" into action..........what ever that is???