Monday evening was a beautiful spring night, warm and comfortable. I was enjoying it from my office with the sliding glass door open onto my upper deck overlooking the lake. It was very quiet until I heard one of the pair of Barred Owls that live in the wooded areas around the lake. They were calling back and forth to each other. Their calls were very loud. They sounded close. I quickly grabbed one of my cameras that I keep ready and mounted on a tripod with a speedlight (flash) and Better Beamer.
They owls were in the trees between my house and the lake. I began photographing them, but most of the time the owls were partially blocked by tree limbs. Occasionally, as they moved about while inspecting me, they were in the open and unobstructed. The pair of owls were in separate trees, but suddenly the male flew to the female, and they mated. They were in the open, and I was able to get the below image.
It was a lucky night for the male owl and for me, since I was able to capture the action. I have not located their nest, but will be looking for it with the hopes of photographing the owlets before they fledge the nest.
The above images were taken with a Nikon D800 and 600mm lens, exposed at 1/1000 sec, f/8, ISO 3200, and with an SB910 speedlight.
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