Bard, the owl - a poet who didn't know it.

I photographed this barred owl back in 2008 while visiting a wildlife rehabilitation sanctuary in Bend, Oregon. We were there early and fortunate enough to find the animals being fed. I captured this shot of the owl as it held the forthcoming meal. The rescue organization rehabilitates injured birds and animals and releases them when they are healed. Those organisms that are too severely injured to be returned to the wild are kept on for educational purposes. They treat the animals well.

This is one of the best owl photographs I have ever taken. Some of my noteworthy shots have been captured in the wild, but the truth is that most of them come from owls in captivity. Some are from zoos and others are from falconers that keep a variety of predatory birds. Owls have always interested me and I find it fascinating when I see photos of them taken by others taken in nature. Some of the more amazing ones involve one of these majestic creatures carrying off some recently acquired prey.

Photographing owls has weighed heavily on my mind lately. I have been out looking for them but have not been successful in my attempts to find them. I do not believe in baiting owls, although there are some that do it. I feed my snake store-bought mice (frozen) and do not think there is a risk of introducing some pathogen or parasite onto the unsuspecting birds. People feed birds at local feeding stations, hummingbirds take sugar from feeders, and many a duck and pigeon have benefitted from the hand of man. Feeding owls falls into the same category, in my mind, but it is not something I ever plan on doing.

I have a few ideas on what to do when searching for owls, but would really appreciate any thoughts on how to go about it more successfully. Please let me know what you think.

• I find owls tend to stay low to the ground. While eagles and hawks often prefer perches high up in the trees, owls tend to stick around at lower levels. Have a look at photos where owls are perching; they are not typically taken from far beneath them.


• Owls tend to be nocturnal hunters. Their hearing is spectacular and they can identify where a prey item is in three dimensions by hearing alone. I have photographed owls at dusk before but never in the morning. I have seen some during the middle of the day but they are usually roosting.


• The owls I have seen are always near open areas. They typically take refuge in a tree with the protection and concealment of branches. I have never, ever, seen an owl sitting on a wire or telephone pole as a hawk or falcon might.


• Owls are fairly shy and secretive. If an owl is in the area it won't usually be easy to see. They do make distinctive calls, but I can remember only hearing them at night. Locating them during the day by sound alone seems to be ineffectual.

I would really appreciate any hints, suggestions, or pointers any of you may have in successfully acquiring photos of these magnificent birds without baiting. I do not like to disturb the creatures if possible - I like to approach only as far as their comfort level will allow. All thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks for reading.     Ericspix     Eric Svendsen