2013 – Boreal Owl

Posted on February 24, 2013 by birdquest2004

I had heard about the sighting of a Boreal Owl in the Fletcher Wildlife/Arboretum area before I went on vacation but never had a chance to get out to look for it.  I just got back and on Saturday afternoon I recieved a call from a good friend and photographer, Mike Cummings.  That he had searched and found the Owl.  I have many photos of Boreal Owls from Amherst Island but just wanted to add it to my winter owl list for 2013.

This image was a tough for many reasons, no light, branches in the way and tough to focus.

Not wanting to get too close, We set up and used  a friends 600mm lens from about 25 feet and a release cable (thanks Bill for use of lens,  Mike for cable release).

Using a +.3 exposure value setting, high ISO and VR (vibration reduction), we were able to get usable images in very low light.  It also helps that the Owl doesn’t move at all.  Photoshop helps to touch up some spots and adjust the lighting.

Thanks for the call Mike….

The image below is from today and the other is from Amherst Island in 2005, the Owl was sitting on a sumac branch in broad daylight.

BorealOwlBlog

BorealOwlBBB

Ciao for now…

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Hybrid Green-winged / Eurasian Teal

Posted on February 8, 2013 by birdquest2004

I heard through a friend that a hybrid Teal was being seen in the Vancouver area.  Off we went in search of this bird, thinking to myself how hard could it be.  Here in Ontario we usually see pairs of birds, sometimes 5-6.  I wasn’t prepared for the sight that greeted me when I turned the corner and saw the water.  There were probably 200-300 Green-winged Teal on the water.

It took a while but once I saw this bird, I just locked on with the binoculars and followed him for a few minutes.  Then out came the camera and I managed a few distant images.

Then not really sure why, all the teals flew up and came to the edge of the boardwalk….it didn’t take long to spot the hybrid. He was in front of me maybe 5 feet away, I took my time and waited for him to be at the angle I wanted.  Below is the resulting image and below that of a Green-winged.   Note the horizontal line of white (Eurasian) and Vertical white line (Green-winged).

Green-WingedTealHybrid

Green-WingedTeal

Thanks again Dave was a great 4 days….Ciao for now

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