In Search Of Owls

I posted these images on one of my blogs, so I apologize if I'm a little redundant here. But, they represents one of the most exciting experiences I've had in quite awhile. I've started to try to follow the birdwatcher's buzz out here on Long Island. There is a very active board where bird enthusiasts post what they've sited and where. Well...the word was out (and there were images to prove it) that there are snowy owls on Long Island this winter. Apparently, there have not been snowy owl sitings here in the last six years. This was an irresistible challenge. I contacted my photo friend Lori (YES! I have made a friend) and we decided to try and find a snowy owl. The boards were pretty specific where to go and look. We headed out to Jones Beach with high anticipation but minimal expectation of seeing one of these birds. Surprisingly, we found one rather quickly, perched conspicuously on a dune. This owl was quite tolerant and essentially posed for us as long as we were interested. It was a pleasure just to stand and gaze at this magnificent bird...much less, capture an image.


Once is not enough...

I went out a second time alone, leaving my house before dawn. Jones Beach is about an hour from where I live and I arrived just as the sun was starting to rise. I started down the path toward where we'd seen the owl before. As I walked along, I saw a dark bird and a white bird in a mid air confrontation. I initially thought the light bird was a gull but as I watched, I knew the flight was not right. At that point, I knew it must be an owl. I quickly looked through my camera and sure enough....it wasl ( I later learned it was being harassed by a peregrine falcon). I had started out with my camera set for what I anticipated I might find...a motionless owl in low light. So, even through I fired off a number of shots, I had nothing of value. This was all taking place in a matter of seconds. I knew I was losing the opportunity and was able to get my shutter speed and ISO adjusted quickly enough to catch one worthwhile image. While it's a little noisy not as sharp as I'd like, I'm thrilled with this capture.