Barred Owl Air Strike

[Marina Scarr]

This scuffle was photographed in a friend's yard who has both Red-shouldered Hawks and Barred Owls living and nesting near his home. The Barred Owl landed on the side of the house. He became increasingly agitated by the hawk perched in his usual spot atop the antenna, so I prepared for action which ultimately ensued when the owl attached the hawk. Unfortunately, my SS wasn't quite high enough to stop the motion in the hawk, but I was happy to get a few shots off nonetheless.


Canon 1D3, Canon 70-200L F4 IS & 1.4TC
F7.1, 1/1250sec, ISO 640, manual mode
Handheld


C & C always welcomed and appreciated,

Marina Scarr
Florida Master Naturalist
www.marinascarrphotography.com

[Steve Large]

Hi Marina,
Lovely action captured in this one. I have been trying to atempt something similar with short-eared owls but can never seem to be in the right place at the right time. Wonder what it would look like as a portrait shot. As the action is more vertical it could hellp to intensify it?


Take care and good light,

Steve

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Marina, certainly action that most of us wont ever see, so well done on pre - planning. Im fine with the comp as is, coz if you go vertical, it may bring the two subjects a touch too tight. Love the eye contact from the owl, together with the wingspread. The owl looks far larger than the kite, so Im not sure if the kite was willing to battle. I agree more ss would have frozen the action better, and although I would take this any day, separation of the wings would have been first prize. Still, well planned, and well captured.

[Randy Stout]

Marina:

Good story, good job reacting to the situation, unfortunate about the SS, but still an engaging photo. For me, the framing works as is, since all the attention is directed towards the center of the frame.

Cheers

Randy

[Jim Neiger]

This is fantastic! Well done!

[Petros Petrou]

Great action image! I would be happy just to be able to witness this scene! The pose of the Owl is awesome with the wings spread and eye contact between the two birds adds a lot to the image. Color looks a bit too hot on my monitor and I would consider reducing the saturation a bit. Thanks for sharing this!

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the action and composition. Well done Marina.

[Arno Ellmer]

Great opportunity captured ,Marina , and very well timed ! I like the HA and the wing spread of the owl.

[Robert Holguin]

Excellent action captured.
Terrific poses on both birds and I like the comp.
Very well done.

[gail bisson]

Boy oh boy-if your SS had been higher this would be an award winning shot.
The action is amazing and love everything about the owl.
The colors seem a bit over saturated to my eye but it may have been the way it was in real life.
Gail

[Jim Neiger]

The image is very warm, but I suspect that is due to sweet late or early light. It may become an award winning shot even with some blur on the hawk. If you had been tracking the hawk and not the Owl, then I suspect the Hawk would be sharp and the Owl would be blurred. ISO 800 and a larger aperture would have allowed both birds to be sharp. These birds share the same territories and have conflicts like this fairly often. It is very difficult behavior to capture because it usualy occurs in the clutter of dense foliage of the trees. I think it is a remarkable image.

[Marina Scarr]

The image is very warm, but I suspect that is due to sweet late or early light. It may become an award winning shot even with some blur on the hawk. If you had been tracking the hawk and not the Owl, then I suspect the Hawk would be sharp and the Owl would be blurred. ISO 800 and a larger aperture would have allowed both birds to be sharp. These birds share the same territories and have conflicts like this fairly often. It is very difficult behavior to capture because it usualy occurs in the clutter of dense foliage of the trees. I think it is a remarkable image.

Thank you for your words of encouragement, Jim. I did enter this in the BBC, but that's the only one. If you think it's worthy, I"ll try entering it in a few more. You are right about the light. It was taken right at 6:30 as the sun was setting. I have already decreased the yellow and reds some. Unfortunately, I didn't have much time to mess with my settings although maybe if I had been less anxious, I may have been able to think more clearly. I just followed my gut which was yelling at me that some major action was about to take place. I'll post the next frame soon.

[Melissa Groo]

This is incredible, Marina. I am just mesmerized by the action here. This is what gets me so excited about photography--the ability to capture a fleeting moment that gives us insight into the relationships among other animals, that we just can't witness any other way than by the capture of a camera. You've really revealed that here. Great work.
I'm fine with the colors the way they are as that's how sweet late light often looks.

[John Cooper]

Great anticipation on your part Marina - Love the interaction here and the inflight pose of the owl with out-stretched wings, fanned tail and good HA. Very warm tones in both birds Marina, was in late afternnon sun.

[gareth thomson]

Darn amazing. The owl is spectacular. As others have said, the eye contact between the two birds really punctuates their interaction -- and makes my eyes bounce back and forth between the two. Very engaging image. Lots to look at.

[dankearl]

Kind of a once in a lifetime frame.
The action is really good and the angle is perfect.

[Shawn Zierman]

Pretty freakin amazing!

[Satish Ranadive]

Marina:
Absolutely superb action captured.Love the wing position of both owl and hawk.Nice colors.Very nice composition.Love it.

Regards,
Satish.

[Amy Marques]

You have a great instinct for potential action, Marina! Nice action and head angles caught of this confrontation. POW!

[Karl Egressy]

Amazing interaction picture, Marina. Once in a lifetime kind of moment captured very nicely.

[David Salem]

Awesome capture!! Very well done...

[Dennis Zaebst]

Amazing capture, Marina. I don't mind the slight blur in the hawk at all. I envy your skill in getting this kind of shot. I am happy (at my low level of skill) to be able to find a sitting owl and take a still portrait.

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Bad *** action here girl. I love the way the owl is staring the hawk down. Your type is white on the description so I couldnt read it? Supaaa coolll