"The Babies have Fledged"

Caught this fresh 2013 fledgling in a take off pose last week at my local owl spot. I have been going out to the location every few days waiting for the owlets to emerge from their burrows.
There are one pair with three young and another pair with five. Not sure if another pair didnt lay or if they are recycling. I love the plumage on the young as they have a white bib and nice contrasting colors.

1DMKIV---500mm---f5.0---ss1/4000---ISO500---Car as blind w/BLUBB---35%crop

Thanks as always for looking and for your input.

David

That is so cute!! Great catch, pose and IQ. Debating whether the bit of ground is helping.

David beautiful wing position and I really love it's long dangling legs!. HA excellent with good eye contact. Techs look good, very fine shot. Owls are very special and a joy to photograph. Well done.

Thanks for the comments Diane and Brian.
Diane, I was unsure what to do about the rock that its taking off from, so much so that I re-cropped the shot to take more of it away. I think its not far enough in the air to be without a point of origin. Good question for others to comment on. With or without the rock?
Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Hi David, the rock has a place in the image IMO so I vote to leave it where it is. Fantastic pose and detail. Might add a little more contrast to the lighter feather area towards the rear under the wing and feet to bring out a little more detail.

Jamie

The Eye is perfect, definitely leave the perch in.
I am not sure about sharpening the body feathers, they look a bit soft, although I think that is how they are.
Very nice photo.

Thanks Jamie and Dan for the comments. Dan, you are right, the body feathers are very soft on these babies and even at a minimum focal distance, they still look soft. It is the way they are. I will post some close-ups of these guys soon.
Thanks again.

Excellent shot.
Terrific pose, excellent details, nice light, and great comp.
Very well done.

Perfect timing and great pose David! Well done.

Great action, peak wing position for the take off pose. Could take or leave the rock in the llc, works either way imo. I was going to say something about another pass of USM, or boosting the contrast, but fully reconsider now after reading your comments on the appearance of the young owl's feathers. I've never photographed a juvenile of any owl species other than distant great horned owlets, so I take your word for it....

nice take off pose,love the eye,and the bit of ground looks ok to me.

Marvellous and congratulations on the kids leaving home lol...looks like the Owl is happy abou tit as well and leaping for joy. Nothing obvious to improve on this one David....well times and crystal clear eye

So hard to capture them in flight very nice

David;
Wonderful flight pose with full stretch wings,cool looking eye,stretched legs. I would like to see composition 2X3 format with more rock.
I also think bird looks like little soft to me.
Superb frame.

Regards,
Satish.

Hi David, very well timed for the take off, and an excellent wing position too. I like the slight head turn, and I would leave the rock - shows us where he's taken off from. Infact a bit more of the rock wouldnt harm IMO. :w3

Love the take-off pose. techs are perfect, and the comp is just right. I'd leave the perch in, it's a great reference point of the situation at hand.

Very cool looking burrowing owl! nice wing pose! light is super and the sharp eye makes for a great picture. Thanks for sharing. I would have included more of the rock if it was mine.