Enigmatic
It was a better day for people than for owls at the owl field today. I bumped into a couple of the original crew, who helped me learn the ins and outs of owl photography way back in the Dark Ages when I first began visiting the scarp, and whom I hadn't seen since they moved away from the area about six years ago. It was good to hear that they're now back, and to have a bit of a catch-up. Then Hillyblips arrived, followed a short while later by Technophobe and LooseCanon, so quite a bit of chatting went on along various sections of the wall.
As for the owls, there were plenty flying, but mostly they were working the centre of the big field, and keeping their distance from the edges. Whether that was because there were too many people about and they didn't care for such a big audience, I can't be sure - they're enigmatic creatures, Short-eared Owls (not to say tricksy and bloody-minded), and while they're prepared to shout their views on marauding Corvids and Kestrels to the sky, they generally keep their opinions of people to themselves. But the last few sessions I've had that resulted in a lot of good, close photos were all on days when there weren't many other people around, and while that's hardly conclusive, it is at least suggestive that it's not only me who prefers the place when it's quieter.
Anyway, this is my favourite photo of the day, taken from the road wall about half an hour after I first landed there, during what turned out to be the closest fly-past of the afternoon. If I'd realised at the time that I would take nothing else remotely as pleasing for the rest of the afternoon, I could have saved myself the further two and a half hours I spent standing around in the bitter cold (and spared HB from having to listen to my carping) and gone home early. Though in all honesty I probably wouldn't have, if only out of FOMO - which in this context stands for Fear of Missing Owls.
Comments
Sign in or get an account to comment.