12/6/2021
Let me check the excuses list: car issues, bad weather, holidays, and... tired? Pick one. That was my November. It has been a while since I made it out. I should have been out looking for some of my favorites (you notice I have a lot of favorite?) to shoot: Winter Wren, Sandhill Crane, and especially Short-eared Owl.
As it is now December, I finally decided to fix one of those things. Last weekend, I grabbed my camera. Then I double-checked some things on the web to make sure which end to look through and where the shutter button was located. After that I plugged some GPS coordinates into my phone and headed off to look for some Short-eared Owls that were being seen not overly far from my house. In this case, the trip was about and our and a half up to West Lafayette.
I got there a little later than planned and found out I had missed the initial flight of four Short-eared Owls. There were a couple in the air still, but they were quite distant and quite high. It was a bit odd how high they kept. They settled shortly after I got there and remained on the ground most of the time I was there. Finally, a few flew up and made passes at each other. As I was watching a pair twist and chase each other through the air, I noticed another owl slip down below the tree line and make a distant pass over the grass. This was the opportunity I was looking for. Out of the series, I got one shot that turned out the way I wanted it. Better than going home empty-handed.
Not long afterwards, the owl settled down again, and I spotted the other two circling higher and moving further away. I waited around until shortly before sunset; breathing in the air and enjoying the beautiful colors of the sunset laying across the landscape. It was nice to be out.
Thanks for reading,
Mike