This is Australia's smallest owl standing between 10"-14", Ninox boobook. Wonderful little fellow. I have only ever seen these once at night spotlighting and couldn't get a decent ID even as they were feeding fledglings high up in the canopy. But yesterday on Good Friday, a friend and I spent a few hours about five minutes from my place in a local forest looking for likely roosts of any owl. As he approached this dead eucalypt tree from where he has come up with Barn Owls in the past I exclaimed that there was a Boobook sitting in a huge open hole less than 8 feet from the ground. We spent all the time with it until nightfall when it began to preen and then flew off. (my avatar is an image created after it flew into a low tree and I was able to stand 10 feet in front and was not perturbed at all getting a few full frame head shots).
Most of my images were made with manual focus as we had no flash to aid focusing and I just got a little lucky. :) What a Good Friday it was. :)
30D, 300/4L, 1.4x, ISO800, f/7.1, 1/125th, 430EX at -2/3 with beamer, tripod and two logs upon which I was standing to get a higher vantage point.
Cropped from horizontal, full height. Needless to say I was excited. :cool:
Wow, and what a beautiful little owl.
Wonderful image in all respects, my only advise would be to crop a bit from right just to make it look more portrait and I would also tone down the perch of the bird since my eyes tend to go down there, other than that is great.
Lucky you!
Akos look what I found last week while I was visiting Palo Verde National Park in the northwestern part of CR! this is the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl rufous morph. Was I exited??? what do you think? owls are my favorite birds. The bad is that he never came close enogh for me to take a desent picture so I just settled to see him though my binacs.
Last edited by Juan Carlos Vindas; 04-10-2009 at 07:44 PM.
Akos lovely image here and you were fortunate to be able to spend so much time with this little owl. I would agree with Juan Carlos about cropping a bit off the right.
Hey mate, those eyes! One of my favourite owls. Well worth your "expedition". It must be disappointing you couldn't get the whole bird in focus. Always good to see your work my friend. if you can find it's day roost you might get one of those magic moment when the bird looks at you.
Southern Boobook - (Hawk Owl)
Reply With Quote
