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Have you heard the latest LEO report on Tweeters from Eide Road? King 5 was there a few days ago and in the report it says "as close as six feet", how brilliant. No comment if Paul B. was with them, so I would hope he was not. Things like this are what will continue to bring the crowds. One of the Tweeters posts says:
"I find it quite ironic that the same WDFW that posted links to the King 5 report without any comment about keeping your distance habitat might be thinking of closing the area because people may be disturbing the owls. Isn’t this the same WDFW that is considering the destruction of this habitat by flooding it?
When I was at Chinook Bend last weekend the person from King County that I spoke with was quite excited that the area was getting attention. She felt that it was a great opportunity to highlight the County’s restoration efforts in the area."
I have not seen this link, but I am posting this to let folks be aware. The problem with "professionals", and King 5 should know better, making comments like "six feet" gives people the impression this is OK.
Sunday (2/8/15) my son and I visited Eide Road after his Special Olympics regional basketball tournament in Stanwood was over. No one there claimed to have seen the long-eared owls. I would not blame them for lying to me after all the flap on Tweeters, but I believe they were telling the truth due to the number of cars in the parking lot (12) and the number of people in the field (about the same).
I counted three short-eared owls patrolling the fields. I hand held my 7D + 100-400L zoom for close shots and mounted the 5DIII + 500L telephoto + 1.4x teleconverter on a tripod for distant shots, of which there were many. I was very pleased with the ability of the latter combo to track the owls in flight and hold them in focus. The owls were too far away for the classic close-up flight shots, so I have posted some distance shots which I hope are entertaining. This is my first owl outing for 2015.
The short-eared owls do not appear to mind photographers staking out their hunting grounds.
I tried to create some artsy shots using the owls and the background.
Inevitably two owls will get too close to each other and a squabble will ensue.
Rainy and gray at Crockett Lake on Thursday where I found this Short-eared Owl and two of his buddies.
*Also, numerous harriers and a Great Horned pair calling behind the lighthouse at Fort Casey.
I did a presentation on Camano Island last night and found myself at the end of Eide Road just after 5 PM, with a little time to spare....so let's see if I can find that LEOW.
*Digiscoped to give the owl some room.
Shooting wildlife is always a challenge. Many a naturalist and photographer have left without seeing a snow leopard, so seeing one 1-2km had to be a treat just the same. "Only saw three tigers." Heck I'd be happy to see a cougar with my camera ready but at a distance, thank you.
And great owl shots, Max! Too bad about the cats, but I have a friend that has done a couple of safaris - frankly her bird shots outdid the big animal shots by a long way. Fabulous birds.
I learned about a mom and owlet being spotted in a cavity nest in Portland that has been used for GHO nesting for the past several years in early February. This is a "low-key" nesting site, "new-to-me" as I had to do some serious research and wound up figuring out where it was located. Anyone who posts pictures of this particular nest site on the net does not include the exact location; I am going to do the same. This nest area simply cannot handle an over crowded scene that has become more and more commonplace in owl nesting areas in the NW over the past several years.
Summing it up, The first few times there was overcast along with light rain, not the best light conditions. First day there, on 2.4.15 I could only see the top of the Mom's head peaking out of the nest, the following day on the 5th I could see the adult and owlet in the nest, this played out on the next few trips out there.
2.5.15
2.7.15
2.12.15
On the 15th there was a good break in the weather for a few days. When I returned that day It was to my surprise that the two owls were out of the nest and on a limb of the tree
2.15.15
2.16.15
On the 17th the weather at the nest was very favorable, the adult owl was perched in the same place I photographed it the day before but, no sign of the owlet
When I returned on the 18th and the 21st the weather conditions were back to being overcast with light rain and the two owls were sitting back in the nest, my pictures from those two visits look like duplicates from the beginning of the month. When I returned on the 25th, the weather was a little better but no sign of the owls. I returned there a few more times after but the owls do not appear to be present. I'm thinking the owlet may have left the nest shortly after my Feb. 21st visit.
Good shots of the great horned owl and owlet. I have yet to spot my local Yost Park barred owl pair this year, but I did hear one of them hooting this afternoon.
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