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Barn Owl


Barn Owl
Photo Information
Copyright: Miles Herbert (CaptiveLight) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 435 W: 61 N: 232] (969)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2007-03
Categories: Birds
Camera: Canon EOS 20D, Canon 100 - 400 L USM IS, Digital RAW ISO 100
Exposure: f/5.6, 1/500 seconds
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2007-05-07 5:37
Viewed: 3317
Favorites: 1 [view]
Points: 20
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Barn Owl, Tyto alba, taken on a Liberty's Centre photo day out in the New Forest. See www.libertyscentre.co.uk for more on Liberty's Centre.

Barn Owls occur worldwide, on every continent except Antarctica. Sometimes they are called Monkey-Faced Owls because of their appearance. They can also be called Ghost Owls due to their eerie, silent flight. Other common names are Church Owl, Golden Owl, Rat Owl, and Stone Owl.

Barn Owls feed mostly on small mammals. These include rats, mice, shrews, moles, and voles. Each Barn Owl may consume between one to seven victims per night; a nesting pair and their young can eat thousands of small mammals per year. This makes them popular with farmers who often put nesting boxes on their land to encourage the birds to live there, to help control the rodent population.

These birds can hunt in total darkness, using their amazing eye sight and even more amazing hearing. Their hearing is extremely sensitive, and thanks to the facial disk which acts as a sound receiver, channeling the slightest sounds towards the ears, they can hear the slightest noise, even down to a heart beat. The ears themselves are asymmetrically located on the head, with one ear higher then the other, which enables the owl to exactly pin point the sounds point of origin, accurate enough to catch rodents under snow, or in total darkness.
gypsygirl58, ArjunaVision, Aramok has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

Hi Miles,
Beautiful image of this owl! Excellent sharpness and details and I love the patterning on the feathers. Well done and TFS
Cheers Tina :-)

Very good picture. Perfect sharpness and DOF. I really like your lighting settings, there's a glow in the eyes and a beautifull balance between dark and light parts. My compliments, Arjuna

Hi Miles

What a wonderful shot of this very beautiful and elusive owl. DOF and POV, Shaprness, composition are spot on.

You have reminded me of when I used to live in a part of the UK where they were quite frequent. It was very eerie seeing them lit up in the car headlights at night...

TFS
Emma

  •      
  • methos Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 213 W: 51 N: 281] (1189)
  • [2007-05-07 6:03]

Hello,
This is just beautiful!
PERFECT!
TFS!

  • Great 
  • joey Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1739 W: 224 N: 6872] (24909)
  • [2007-05-07 6:21]

Hi Miles,
if these are the kind of amazing shots I will get the chance to get if I go to your Bird in the Forest Photoday then I'm looking for a suitable time straight away!
A superb capture that I could only envy.
Well done,
Joey

whaou
mon annimal préféré ; quel magnifique photo et quelle clarté !
TFS
Jos

Hi Miles,
Beautiful image. Well composed.
Nice colours...
TFS
Annick

  • Great 
  • gannu Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 988 W: 4 N: 3277] (14761)
  • [2007-05-08 4:39]

Miles, This is a very nice shot and lovely looking bird. (I dont know where it standing). The BG and colors are very lovely and sharp. Ganesh

  • Great 
  • PaulH Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1137 W: 26 N: 3879] (13882)
  • [2007-05-08 6:51]

Hi Miles,

excellent pose on your Barn Owl here, simply beautiful. Looks like a day at Crow's on the cards for me then, although i think i'd prefer a shoot in the Forest though.

Great stuff,

Paul

Hello you old dog....Guess who :-)

What can I say? A lovely image mate as always.

Ade

A superb photo of this ever popular Owl.
Very sharp and full of detail showing all the feather markings.
Well done. I wish it had been my picture.
TFS.
Peter

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