Eastern Screech Owl

[Isaac Grant]

I have spent so many hours walking through the woods of Staten Island looking for an opportunity like this with an Eastern Screech Owl over the last 15 years that I can not even begin to calculate them. I was finally able to find one who sits in a hole that is low to the ground and in the open. This bird is shy and very rarely sits in the open in the daylight. It comes out after the sun has set and slowly climbs to the top of his hole. I watched it through the viewfinder in the camera but it was so dark that I could barely see the bird. I waited until it was fully up until shining a very dim light on it, just enough that the autofocus works on the camera. Then I took a few quick photos and turned the light off. About a minute later I watched him fly off into the darkness.

Nikon D850 and Nikon 600f4E + 1.4x iii. Fill flash at -2 (SB5000) ISO 800, F8, SS 1/125. Because so much of this photo is bird or tree I had to lower the size and lower the quality a bunch to meet the size requirement of the site.

[Paul Burdett]

Isaac: Congratulations on getting that long awaited shot! Patience is certainly a virtue in this game isn't it. The stare/eyes on the bird are amazing, as are the colours and detail. Just wondering if you could reduce the flash a tad more to lower the bright section to the left...or even reduce the highlights in pp. Looks like the Nikon gear is a winner!

[Colin Driscoll]

Neat shot and well worth the wait, great camouflage.

[Arthur Morris]

Looks darned good to me. You ave mastered the flash as main light stuff. You might consider toning down the bright orange scars (??? -- if that is what they are0.

With love, a

[Alex Becker]

Pretty sweet. Love the color scheme highlighting how well hidden these birds can be. Well lit. I love the look at the talons and ear tufts. No nits from me. TFS

[Isaac Grant]

Looks like some sort of fungus. And they are vibrant like that during the day. I think that is why the bird chose that hole. Closest thing to its color.

[John Mack]

Nice how the owl is tucked in there. The crop works very well.

[gail bisson]

Ooh...I wish I had this in my files.
It looks great Isaac.
Love the fungus and the tree. Flash work looks good.
A bit of a bummer that the tree trunk above the head is out of the DOF but not a big deal.
Very nice!!
Gail

[Isaac Grant]

Gail that trunk is fairly deep and I am not sure that I could get it in focus. I did try but was not able to. I even considered taking a pic of the back and then cloning it in but it just did not feel right to do that so I left as is.

[Mike Poole]

I'm not normally a fan of flashed shots, but this one is beautifully executed with just the right power and a lack of really harsh shadows. The OOF trunk ares looks perfectly natural to me, adding a sharpen version would look a little strange to me

Mike

[Jack Backs]

Beautiful image. Tack sharp, gotta love Nikon's low light AF capabilities.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Isaac, excellent use of fill flash - its very subtle and works well. I like the colour of this Owl, and he looks nicely nestled in the hole of the tree. Great eye contact. Well captured.

[Dorian Anderson]

Lucky dog! I've found a few in holes but never low/close enough to shoot. Still no frame of Eastern, Western, or Whiskered so I'm very envious of this one. So nice he's red! I love the little talons peeking out as well. Perfectly executed!

[William Dickson]

This is a beauty Isaac...Your hard work paid off big style here. Love the colours on the owl, intact I love the colours throughout the image. It must have been difficult to spot as it blends so well with the tree. Great stare on a beautiful bird. Nice one.

Will

[Anthony Barsotti]

Awesome shot! I’ve been searching high and low for one of these too, albeit for much, much less time than you have. Glad the persistence finally paid off with such a great capture of one of these elusive birds.