Owls

We’re almost grateful for today’s dull drizzle; it’s a much-needed excuse for a lazy day, but we do manage a few hours out and head for the National Centre for Birds of Prey at Helmsley. 

I love raptors. There’s something quite magnificent about them. Of course, it’s wonderful to watch them in the wild, soaring on thermals, searching for their prey, or hovering like yesterday’s kestrel before swooping down. Nothing can beat seeing them free in their own element. But there’s also something wonderful about close encounters with these creatures, staring into their eyes, admiring their beautiful markings. 

Inevitably, there’s something dispiriting about seeing them caged - but we end up having a long and meaningful conversation with an utterly gorgeous gryphon vulture, and playing peek-a-boo with a couple of cute but noisy burrowing owls. 

But when it comes to watching them fly, it’s a different matter. We watch a Great Grey Owl and Eurasian Eagle Owl  being flown and their beauty sings. I love photographing them perching on the tree stumps, but even more, I love the challenge of trying to capture them in flight. Of course, it will never match up to the thrill of spotting an owl in the wild, but it’s still a real privilege to be so close to these beauties. 

It’s hard to know whether to go for a static portrait with eye and feather detail, or an inflight shot as my main, and in the end I go for the latter, with an inevitable range of other owl shots as extras - plus one of falcon and falconer as I just liked the look of connection between them - oh, and an eagle portrait!