Owl irruption

[alan_olander1664878205]

For those of you who are bird photographers, there is an influx of

Great Grey Owls and Northern Hawk Owls in Minnesota, especially in

the N.E. part of the state. Check out this link:

 

http://articles.owlpages.net/news.php?article=164&page=1

[bruce]

Hi,

I live in Minnesota and have been out shooting these owls over two different

weekends. If you wish to venture north in search of Great Grays, head to a

region known as the Sax Zim bog. The owls are reasonably approachable. If

you are using a digital slr w/ a 1.5 crop factor, a 400mm lens will be sufficient

for portraits. This image was taken w/ a 300mm + 1.4x

enjoy,

regards,

bruce

http://www.btleventhal.com<div></div>

[alan_olander1664878205]

Bruce,

 

Nice shot! I don't live too far from the Sax Zim bog (75 miles), but have never visited it. I'll have to do that soon!

[mike_danzenbaker]

The owl incursion in MN is receiving quite a lot of publicity. If you go, please remember not to press these birds which are struggling to survive.

[andrew robertson]

My family has a cabin up there, and when I was staying for a few weeks in August I noticed

many owls and even had a mountain lion sighting at about 25 yards. Too bad I was on the

porch taking a break from the sauna, because I had gone up there to photograph wild

animals! Anyway, of course I don't sauna with anything but occasionally a towel.

[jerome_smith]

From your experience is it safe to assume that the "irruption" will last at least thru Jan?

 

Thanks

[alan_olander1664878205]

I don't know how long they will stay, but I'm would think it would be through most of the winter. The reason they are here is because there is a decrease in rodent populations in their normal range. Remember, like Mike said, don't pressure them. They are here because they were starving where they came from. I have seen two at my home in north central Minnesota, so they may continue to venture further south.

[andrew robertson]

Strangely enough, I went shooting today in a wetland near my house, and caught sight of

two big owls. Here's one of them...

[mark_chappell]

Andrew: great horned owl. Common throughout most of North and South America (but

pretty cool nonetheless).

[bruce]

The owls will probably be around all winter. The recent ice storms and snow

will not help them survive, as they hunt by catching mice that are burrowing

through the snow. I agree with all of the posters who suggest some caution

when photographing these birds. As of last weekend, more than 50 great

grays have died in car-owl collisions. I always do my work on back roads

where there is no traffic. In addition, I will not photograph these birds if they

are at all interested in me. As soon as a bird stops alters its behavior in

response to my actions, I move on.

 

Here's another image I made during a recent shoot.

http://www.btleventhal.com/HomeImages/GGO8.jpg

regards,

bruce

[jerome_smith]

Any update on this thread? Are the owls still in number at Sax-Zim?

(I've been checking the Duluth weather for the last 3 weeks and can't seem to find a window of opportunity to fly up from Tucson.)

 

Thanks

 

Jerome Smith