Pete Whieldon was offering a Tawny Owl evening workshop that sounded really good back in May/June. However my session was unfortunately abruptly cancelled as the bird had suddenly gone AWOL Fortunately it started showing again a month or so later, so I got this rearranged session. This is the first time I've photographed Tawny Owl at his hides and the setup was excellent.
Even though the bird didn't quite live up to expectations, there was a busy 45mins or so after dusk when the bird showed repeatedly, with very brief visits each time. After that, it suddenly went very quiet. Pete speculated that the female had taken the young off into the fields for a hunting lesson. Whatever the reason, there was only one further visit at around 23:00, which I missed completely having setup on the wrong perch!
Pete provided all the flash equipment needed for the three photographers at this session. Note that the flash didn't appear to bother the birds at all.
As usual, click on any of the captions for larger images.
Tawny Owl perched momentarily on a mossy post © Stephen Burch |
Tawny Owl incoming © Stephen Burch |