Nesting Owls

Nikon D40x
f10
1/160 sec.
ISO 200
Nikon AF 70-210mm 3.5-5.6 @ 210mm

I have always loved photographing birds and wildlife. I would take my mums camera when i was a child, a Nikon F70 film camera, and photograph swans or whales or whatever was the focus of my attention. I remember that she would be fairly annoyed when after developing the rolls of film she would receive 36 exposures of a whales back or a swans head. Ha ha, got to start somewhere i suppose.

Okay, so i do a lot of wondering around when I'm at home. Knysna is quite a small town and its really quiet but its also really beautiful with an abundance of bird life. The island i live on has a lot of really tall trees which are perfect for nesting birds. I had noticed a pair of owl chicks on the heads and had regularly seen the mother hunting close by but never straying to far from her nest. She would swoop down on the neighbourhood dogs keeping them in check.

After trying to get some shots of them at night with very little success i discovered a breeding pair of spotted eagle owls and their two chicks just down the road from me. Rather than only coming out at night as usually, they were really active in the day. I spent a few days there and managed to get some really nice shots. I managed to get this one of one of the adults cleaning their talons. I thought it made for a really interesting picture as an owls talons are what really makes them such an efficient and deadly hunter. The sheer grace and stealthiness they have when swooping from the branches in absolute silence never ceases to amaze me.

Even though i like to think that my photography has progressed since the days of swans and whale's backs, I still get the same amazing feeling i did then of capturing a moment that will never happen again, and boy is it a good one!

Will add some pictures of the chicks soon. They were super cute balls of fluff!

Til next time..