Short-Eared Owl in Habitat

Canon 1D4
500mm
On Blubb on car window edge

ISO 1000
f/4
1/120 sec

Worked hard to get this one, taken 3 days ago. Was up visiting family over the weekend in northern NY state, and found a spot about a half hour away where short-eared owls had been sighted. The wind was ferocious and it was dark all weekend, with intermittent snow, but I went to this spot three times, twice at dusk, once at dawn. Too dark to catch one in flight, but this one short-eared perched for about 3 minutes and I was able to get a shot. I didn't get the one I was dreaming of (something along the lines of the stellar close-up one Steve Large posted a couple weeks ago), but I was certainly thrilled to see them. The most wonderful part was hearing them barking to one another as they swirled above me in the dark.
I was glad to have a natural perch as they are so often on fenceposts. And I liked the sense of the grasslands they are found in.
50% crop, NR, sharpening.
Thank you in advance for any comments and critiques.

Glad the hard work payed off Melissa. I like this natural perch and lots of space. Great OOF BG grasslands as well....always like seeing these birds, one of my favorites.... good work.

Great shot.
I really like the placement of the owl in the frame.
Great pose, love the great view of it's habitat, and nice light.
Well done.

Very nice environmental shot of this guy. h is perched in a good position. I was upstate this past weekend and boy was the wind howling! Very nice job with the techs you had to use.

I rather like the comp with the skeletal trees, bird nicely placed in the frame........all these daytime Owl shots are making me crazy :eek3:

Hi Melissa - I really like the tones of this one, definitely conveys the sense of cold. Nice comp and inclusion of habitat. Your hard work and patience paid off.

TFS,
Rachel

I like the comp on this, Melissa. Nice environmental feel to it. Shows the value of patience. I wish these guys would come back to my neck of the woods.

It can be difficult to come up with an effective image with a bird quite small in the frame but you have done it here about as well as it can be done!
The bird is placed perfectly in the frame IMO and the branches form a nice pattern and add interest ... and having them all on roughly the same plane and sharp is a nice bonus.
Wonderful BG which also provides a nice sense of habitat. Agree with Rachel about the sense of cold which works well but I think warming it up a bit would also be an option if you wanted to convey a different mood.

Very nice Melissa...I've always been a fan of seeing wildlife in the habitat they er..inhabit (couldn't think of a good synonym for inhabit...). Anyway, I like the branches as they add interest to the photo without distracting at all. Very well done keeping everything in focus, and great OOF BG.

Oh yes, I just arrived yesterday in Florida, and I was bemoaning the dark overcast I had to deal with...and then you post this image under the conditions you describe. OK, I am going to have to try harder! :S3:

Great to have one on a natural pech, Melissa. Nice eye contact, excellent background and nice composition.

Your patience paid off here, Melissa. Very nice image all around.

Terrific Melissa.
I would not change a thing, A large view, will look great in a large print.

Hi Melissa, great shot of a beautiful creature in its natural environment. Love the colors of the BG. I just wonder if a tighter crop on the right with the right branch cloned out would enhance the image?

Thank you all very much for the feedback.