Different

I was standing at the road wall today next to someone I know to be a very good photographer, and while we were chatting he said that he was a bit tired of taking the same old photos, and was looking to capture something a bit different. I wanted to say, though I didn't, that I'd be thrilled skinny to get what he considers to be the same old stuff - but I was feeling a bit disheartened at the time, because I wasn't having the best of days. My eyesight wasn't great following a couple of poor nights' sleep, and the light was fairly poor, giving very low contrast to the scene in front of us. Because of all this I found myself struggling to pick up the owls quickly enough as they approached, and frequently only found them and got focus just as they went past me. I haven't bothered counting the number of receding owl backsides I've deleted this evening, because I don't think it would make me feel any better about my afternoon's work.

Anyway, as it turns out I did get some photos that are a bit different to my usual stuff, and while obviously different doesn't necessarily mean better,  in this case I'm happy to showcase three of them. 

The main image shows the very pale owl that has come to be a favourite of mine this season, and which I've previously featured here and here. It had recently been in a quarrel with another Shortie - showing each other their talons and calling each other names - and afterwards, while its rival flew off westwards, this one crossed the main road and circled the sheep field. When I realised it was coming back straight towards us, I lifted the camera above my head and rattled off a burst of shots more in hope than expectation - but happily, several of them came out pretty well. This was the last in the sequence before the owl sailed over my head and away, and I'm really quite pleased with it.

Both my extras illustrate the kinds of confrontation that regularly punctuated the afternoon. The first shows one owl deliberately putting itself on a collision course with another, and pretty much chasing it down. Had I even noticed the bird that was closer to me, it goes without saying that I'd have been trying to focus on that, but I only saw it when it crossed in front of my lens - and the further owl - a second or so earlier in the sequence. So in one sense this image represents failure. But rather than crop out the nearer bird, I thought it was better to leave it in and show what had caught the further owl's furious attention.

Speaking of furious, my third photo tonight was taken from the lane next to my car, as I was packing up and getting ready to go home. Someone I was chatting to pointed out the Kestrel, which for once was just sitting on the post, minding its own business and not getting in anyone else's face. Then suddenly a Short-eared Owl appeared and bore down on it - for no better reason I could see than that it wanted to take out one of its rivals. The Kestrel jittered about on the post as the owl approached, but held its nerve to the very last moment. At this point the owl stalled so it was hanging vertically in the air, while the Kestrel lifted off and immediately flipped onto its back. This allowed them both to thrust their talons at each other, after which purely ritual combat the Shortie flew upwards and away, and the Kestrel exited stage left.