Starting my "Owl" journey

[midwesternerr]

There are some concerns that it could cause an owl to flee a territory thinking it's taken by a rival and stuff like that but I don't think there is any consensus on tape effects or ethics in the birder world other than not to go too crazy, too often. The biggest fear is that an owl might swoop in on the guy with the tape player lol

Some studies have left tape players on timers combined with camera traps. I think they had some success capturing the owls on film that way. Surprised they didn't try a mouse as bait. Probably not too many people get to have many encounters with owls, so however frustrating tracking them down may be, it's really amazing to be able to find them.

[Green Man]

I guess I see your point if one were to call consistently at the same location. I would assume that different calls would have different results,

Your point is understandable.

[Hedgerowe]

Any progress on the owl photo shoot research, Quietman? (Waiting impatiently for owl photos...)

[Xena]

I'm not sure how you would get an exposure of them.

I don't think strobe flash is a great idea. Flashing that much light into an eye tuned to see in darkness could cause temporary blindness (like when someone flashes the camera in your face in the dark, but much more so).

Without adding light, you'd need to make a very long exposure. Which would yield nothing but blurred images.

[Quietman]

Originally Posted by swamp thing

Quietman, I forget what you came up with to eliminate condensation on your camera, but I tried putting the camera in the car, and that worked pretty well. It was evening, so the car wasn't blazing hot, but warm and dry enough to warm up the camera in ten minutes or so.

Good luck with the owls, they can definitely startle you! I set up a tent once as it was getting dark, apparently in the middle of a screech owl convention or something, what a racket!!!

Yep, I found that pre-warming the camera helps, but eventually (my experience) was that the dew catches up with you! Dew caps (for telescopes) accomplish the same thing, but results are short lived.

I made my own "dew-heater" with 7 each 10 Ohm (NOT 10K ohm) resistors, a 12VDC power supply, some heat shrink tubing, weather stripping and insulation. Total cost was about $4.00 and it works as long as I have it plugged in or attached to a 12V battery.

Originally Posted by Green Man

Heres one for ya quietman,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fppKGJD3Y6c

I dont see why anyone would have a problem calling owls, I geuss it would depend on what you did when you found them. The local forest preserve district often has programs where people can go out with a ranger at night and look for owls.

Wow! An amazing video Green Man, thank you for sharing it with me! I'm doing loads of research, and would only hope to have such sauces. I'm afraid if I rush it, I'll end up with a result more like this (warning, you will never get this 2 minutes and 30 seconds of your life back)

Thanks again!

Originally Posted by Hedgerowe

Any progress on the owl photo shoot research, Quietman? (Waiting impatiently for owl photos...)

Hedge,

It took me over ten years to FINALLY get a meteor picture!! However, I am myself hoping for somewhat faster results!

Originally Posted by Xena

I'm not sure how you would get an exposure of them.

I don't think strobe flash is a great idea. Flashing that much light into an eye tuned to see in darkness could cause temporary blindness (like when someone flashes the camera in your face in the dark, but much more so).

Without adding light, you'd need to make a very long exposure. Which would yield nothing but blurred images.

Xena,

You are absolutely right! I am not considering that as an option at the moment. I'm thinking full moon night with a fast lens, or an array or ultra-violet lights (invisible) and tweak the camera to capture UV. But I'd like to insure that owls do not see into the UV spectrum.

Some humans, particularly of Nordic descent, can see some UV (purple vision). The US actually abandoned research to use UV flood lights on WWII battlefields (our guys were gonna have special goggles) when they found out the Vermacht could possibly benefit from the tactic (less goggles).

Still a lot of research to do!

Quietman

[Hedgerowe]

Oh okay (scuff of feet, hang of head, small sigh)...I'll be patient.

[Green Man]

I was surfing and came across an owl site with some interesting info. They have a section on building a house for an owls to keep them around. Also other interesting stuff, Not much about how to photograph though. Might be worth checking out

The Owl Pages - About Owls - photos, calls, books, art, mythology and more.

[MaggyNoLia]

Quietman I love the fact that you're posting these informative threads. I'm just a greenhorn when it comes to understanding a camera. You explain things in friendly detail and I look forward to seeing what else you have to teach me each day. Thank you for sharing your time and these threads with us.

[NEWisc]

Great thread - I'm enjoying your owl adventure too.

[havalotta]

Is your intent to capture just night photos of them or daytime photos as well?