Post by kenpossum on Dec 19, 2012 20:31:37 GMT -8
You might wonder about the first two images in this discussion as they depict elk and not birds. For the first 40 years of my journey as a nature photographer, nature scenics, flora, large animals were my forte. Over those years, I made thousands of observations, this being one.
Many of the large ungulates such as elk sought the company of humans. Not necessarily because they liked us, but how we protected them from preditors. The two images below were taken on one of my nature photography workshops in the Canadian Rockies, near the town of Jasper, Alberta. Just south of town, about 1-2km, the female elk would congregate to birth and raise their young.
Why so close to humans? The answer - the grizzlies and wolves would rarely come so close to town, so they could raise their young in safety, even if that meant they would also be in close contact with humans, including photographers. They seemed not to mind at all.
I found the same with deer, mountain sheep and mountain goats. Photographers meant safety from preditors. Even though some photographers left their brains at home and ventured too close for comfort, overall the human factor was a good thing as far as they were concerned.
Recently, I have been observing and photographing Snowy Owls and Short-eared Owls at Boundary Bay. My illustrations below are of Short-eared Owls, but I have similar images of Snowies as well.
Both owls hunt for Townsend Voles in the marshes, and I have seen both with a successful hunt.
The SEA above caught four voles within an hour of my photographing him. The first two, he flew directly over me and stuffed his dinner under a log, no less than 30' away from our group of photographers on the dike photographing him. He could have chosen any log above the high tide line, some being 300m away.
All the while while he was near us, a Northern Harrier Hawk flew overhead. The Hawk didn't come close to us or the owl. But ... whenever the owl was away from us hunting in the marsh, the hawks flew in and harassed the owls.
The third vole he left in the grass and proceeded to catch another, and proceeded to eat it.
Between voles, he perched himself about 30' away on the fence near the dike. He could have chosen a post anywhere from 50' to 100' away, but he kept choosing (at least 12 times!) the closest possible perch to our group of photographers.
If we were 'stressing' this owl to the point where he couldn't hunt, he had a strange way of showing it. What did seem to concern him were those hawks overhead.
Even in flight, the hawks would confront the owls (both Short-eared and Snowy) and if the owl had a vole, they would give chase.
Every time, the hawk took the vole from the owl. Every time!
Now, last year I did see some photographers much to close to the owls out in the marsh. Almost all had huge f/2.8 300mm - 600mm lenses. One even boasted to us on the dike that he got within 10 feet of a Snowy. My thoughts ... (self edited).
Getting that close will stress out any animal, and what for? From a greater distance with those lenses you can get the entire owl in your frame and if a tripod was used, every feather would be sharp as a tack.
However, thankfully those unthinking photogs are very few in number, and this year during several trips to Boundary Bay, I haven't spotted a single one. I have seen a number of photographers out in the tidal marsh, but every one has kept a respectful distance from both owls. Not one owl flew away from them while I was there. Knowing now what I have learned from the observations above, I realize that they are probably doing more good than bad to the owls. Appreciated!!!
Now ... What do do about the duck hunters. All those guns blasting away would stress me out!
If I have offended anyone, my apologies.
Many of the large ungulates such as elk sought the company of humans. Not necessarily because they liked us, but how we protected them from preditors. The two images below were taken on one of my nature photography workshops in the Canadian Rockies, near the town of Jasper, Alberta. Just south of town, about 1-2km, the female elk would congregate to birth and raise their young.
Why so close to humans? The answer - the grizzlies and wolves would rarely come so close to town, so they could raise their young in safety, even if that meant they would also be in close contact with humans, including photographers. They seemed not to mind at all.
I found the same with deer, mountain sheep and mountain goats. Photographers meant safety from preditors. Even though some photographers left their brains at home and ventured too close for comfort, overall the human factor was a good thing as far as they were concerned.
Recently, I have been observing and photographing Snowy Owls and Short-eared Owls at Boundary Bay. My illustrations below are of Short-eared Owls, but I have similar images of Snowies as well.
Both owls hunt for Townsend Voles in the marshes, and I have seen both with a successful hunt.
The SEA above caught four voles within an hour of my photographing him. The first two, he flew directly over me and stuffed his dinner under a log, no less than 30' away from our group of photographers on the dike photographing him. He could have chosen any log above the high tide line, some being 300m away.
All the while while he was near us, a Northern Harrier Hawk flew overhead. The Hawk didn't come close to us or the owl. But ... whenever the owl was away from us hunting in the marsh, the hawks flew in and harassed the owls.
The third vole he left in the grass and proceeded to catch another, and proceeded to eat it.
Between voles, he perched himself about 30' away on the fence near the dike. He could have chosen a post anywhere from 50' to 100' away, but he kept choosing (at least 12 times!) the closest possible perch to our group of photographers.
If we were 'stressing' this owl to the point where he couldn't hunt, he had a strange way of showing it. What did seem to concern him were those hawks overhead.
Even in flight, the hawks would confront the owls (both Short-eared and Snowy) and if the owl had a vole, they would give chase.
Every time, the hawk took the vole from the owl. Every time!
Now, last year I did see some photographers much to close to the owls out in the marsh. Almost all had huge f/2.8 300mm - 600mm lenses. One even boasted to us on the dike that he got within 10 feet of a Snowy. My thoughts ... (self edited).
Getting that close will stress out any animal, and what for? From a greater distance with those lenses you can get the entire owl in your frame and if a tripod was used, every feather would be sharp as a tack.
However, thankfully those unthinking photogs are very few in number, and this year during several trips to Boundary Bay, I haven't spotted a single one. I have seen a number of photographers out in the tidal marsh, but every one has kept a respectful distance from both owls. Not one owl flew away from them while I was there. Knowing now what I have learned from the observations above, I realize that they are probably doing more good than bad to the owls. Appreciated!!!
Now ... What do do about the duck hunters. All those guns blasting away would stress me out!
If I have offended anyone, my apologies.
