Today’s “Fun Friday” post gives me great hope on again experiencing/photographing Missouri’s endangered Barn Owls. This image was captured in a Missouri barn that is about 10 miles from my rural home. The barn owl is endangered in Missouri, with only a handful of known populations throughout the state. And when a population is discovered, it’s location is kept secret to prevent onlookers rushing in and frightening them away. The main reason they are endangered is due to loss of available barns for nesting. I was very fortunate that a mother of one of my 4H kids that I was teaching photography, came forward and told me about this family of owls that were then nesting in one of their grain silos. Here is a “stack of owls” I captured in 2011 when I became aware of this population of barn owls:
As some of you have probably read in some of my followup posts, I built and installed a nest box inside this barn, to (1) give them a permanent place to nest, and (2) prevent them from nesting in the silo, which the owners need to use on a regular basis. I heard back from the owners about a month ago that their oldest son had seen 4 barn owls inside the barn! So, I immediately went over and set up a trail cam to capture the activity. As soon as I publish this post, I’m heading back over to change out the memory card and batteries. I’m really looking forward to seeing what activity has been occurring over the past month with this population of barn owls! Hopefully, you will see some good news here in a few days! :o)
Photographic Equipment Used:
- Canon 1D Mark 3 body
- Canon EF 100mm-400mm f/4.5-f/5.6 IS lens + Canon 1.4x TC
- Handheld, with IS “On” and leaning against a hail bale for support
- ISO 1600
- Aperture f/7.1
- Shutter 1/4 sec.