Superbowl

From Everet D Regal

After sitting under a stand of 3 or 4 huge Eucalyptus trees, high on a barren hillside, watching for bobcats, the last bits of evening light and the now cold air was causing me to shiver in my shorts and t-shirt. Bobcat had been my target subject, but my one sighting was brief, resulting in no photographs and the only other wildlife l'd seen was a lone coyote, who patrol the terrain in search of gophers and rabbits. When first saw this Great Horned Owl land on a perch behind me, it was much to far away in such dim light for me to photograph. I could have never imagined that the owl would find me to be a curiosity in his territory, flying right to the trees I was sitting under and landing just over my head. I couldn't twist around enough to take any photos, as was sitting on the root, with my tripod low to the ground.

Assuming I would never get a shot off before he flew, slowly stood, keeping the huge tree trunk between me and the owl, extended my tripod legs, adjusted my camera settings for what might be a split second opportunity and began to reposition myself to have a clear line of sight. Much to my surprise the owl stuck and was able to shoot multiple exposures as he stared down at me. I was shivering pretty hard at that point, perhaps from the cold, but also from the adrenaline of the situation. I wondered if he was sizing me up for an attack or just questioning his reflection in my huge 600mm lens glass. After a minute or so, he flew from that branch and perched on this one, in a different tree.

Again, he allowed me to carefully reposition myself and begin taking photographs. As he began gyrating, bobbing his head and calling out, I glanced to my left and saw what assumed was the mate far off in the distance. With the low light, the cold breeze and the owls cackling being the only sound breaking the silence, it was an eerie feeling, making all the hairs stand up on my arms and legs. Being alone in the middle of this vast, expansive area, surrounded by steep, rugged terrain, and no headlamp was almost relieved when the owl finally flew to join his partner for their nightly hunt and was able to start my decent, down to where I parked. I was freezing and couldn't wait to get the top back up on the convertible was driving, turn on the heat and begin my 2 hour drive back to my hotel. It was a great finish to the day and stands as my most unusual and eerie owl encounter. The crazy look of the owl in this shot may not be my favorite of the encounter, but pretty much sums up how it felt from my perspective.

Canon EOS 1DX MII+EF600+EF1.4x - 1/640-f/5.6 12,800 ISO