Returning with Dinner
From the Field
It was a regular occurrence watching my barn owls return to their roost with a catch. They were prolific. The downside was that they’d then stay hidden whilst disposing of their meal, rather than flying around, significantly reducing the opportunity to photograph them.
So what’s the other option?
Photograph them before they get back to their roost.
Easier said than done.
Trying to get a good shot of the owls whilst also making it clear that they were carrying their prey wasn’t the easiest. But this evening, everything worked to plan.
On numerous occasions I had seen this owl return via the same route to a familiar perch where it liked to eat its meal. And it was a spot where I could shoot into the light, creating a backlit rim around both the owl and the vole, helping to make what it was carrying visible.
'Returning with Dinner' was Commended by Wild Art in 2021