Bird Photographer based in Central Pennsylvania. I hope to capture nature and inspire others to do the same. To grow appreciation for what's around us, I believe, is what will help most.
I actually was able to get some ruddy duck photos the next time I went up! Just such a great place for all kinds of wildlife up there. Thanks for watching!
Great video! Im recently into wildlife photography, and know there are quite a bit of owls in my region. Your video is really inspiring! Cheers from the village of Fiskars, Finland!
1.2k view and only 36 views wow yall are bogus the man spent 10 times the time it took you to watch to make this video least we can do is give him a thumbs up! Great video man I'm a subscriber now.
I enjoyed seeing how you worked with the floating blind. After another frustrating season trying to get waterfowl from shore concealed, I think I will have to take the plunge, and it is sure to be a cold plunge up here in NH! Love the pied bill grebe stuff!
Thanks John! I should mention I’m looking into getting a “drysuit” instead of a wetsuit next year, I was pushing my limits with the cold pretty much every day using the floating blind and it would just be nice to avoid that for the most part and focus more on why I’m there which is to take photos. Also, once I saw the pied billed grebe come up with a leech in its mouth while I was sitting in the same water made me a little sketched out that I wasn’t completely sealed 😂
Thank you! I wish that would work for me lol. I guess I got to the point of no longer being able to justify waking up that early and going through all the effort if it didn’t give me a better chance of not being seen.
I followed a most unusual birdsong through the woods for almost an entire summer trying to get a good sighting, long before cell phones and digital cameras (1960s probably) and that species is now one of my favorites: The Northern Parula Warbler. It's last few notes are so high and shrill I imagine he looks like Sylvesters Tweety Bird straining on tippy toes to get the last of it out!!! Do you have them where you are? I'm in north, central Florida.
@@TheDirtyBirder haha I bet! I am inspired though - I will try and go out and look for an owl this week! I have never seen an owl in Norway although I know they are hiding nearby
Attended a seminar on ethical owl photography for those who might be wondering how you can tell you're giving an owl enough space, and why it's important: 1) The eyes. If their eyes are wide open and staring right at you, they are not comfortable. they are high alert and stressed. If they're squinted or straight-up closed, that's a good sign that they're not bothered. 2) The plumage. If they are puffed up, they're probably stressed 3) Their position. An owl not facing you directly, looking around, or even with its back turned is a chill, happy owl. Even with its back turned, it knows you are there, and has decided it doesn't feel threatened. A stressed owl can very quickly turn into a dead owl. It's not healthy for them to be on high alert like that, especially when so many folks are crashing into their space. Plus, you stomping around their feeding grounds can make hunting more difficult. Don't stay too long, don't use flashlights directly at them or flash photography, be responsible in your own actions and be responsible in who you share information with regarding an owl's location
Yes! Absolutely. I should have added these to the video. I will probably do an updated video in the future and add this information in with it because it is important for people to know along with the other things I covered in the video. I’ll pin your comment until then!
Thank you so much for this. I’m as amateur as they come and have become obsessed with owls. Imagine my surprise that a bird photographer is having as rough a time as I am! This is how little I’ve understood about it. There’s an orange screech owl in a sycamore at the park near my house, my first time there I actually saw 2 but came to discover it was beginner’s luck. I do think there’s great value in being quiet in nature and just observing. This was very helpful and I admire your tenacity. I’m pretty relieved not to be an owl photographer! 😂🤣😅😂
does that handle extend out to about where Canon's grip is? That is one thing I would miss leaving Canon as I have big hands and every other camera is uncomfortable to handle with its smaller or a lack of a grip.
It does leave you with a deeper grip but like I mentioned in the video, if you do have bigger hands or wear gloves you may find yourself having a hard time with your fingers potentially getting stuck between the lens and the grip.
Thank you! You know what would be awesome? I follow alot of you professional wildlife and nature photographers and it would be awesome if I could go on a wildlife and nature photography trip with one of you guys for a whole weekend 😀
Haha I’m more of a hobbiest than a “professional” wildlife photographer. Definitely open to going out with other people though! Just need to bring your blind.
I shall look for these...warblers. Have you ever been to Wildwood Park in Harrisburg? Surrounded by highways and an industrial zone, the birds are so used to people there they practically land on your shoulder (not really) and more turtles than you can count.
State parks are always a good option. Also, you can look on e-bird for general bird hotspots in your area. Sometimes I travel up to a couple hours to find owls if I know the place will be worth my while in one way or another
Honestly, I'm loving your channel. You're the only honest wildlife shooter on RU-vid. I've been cracking away at wildlife videography for the last couple years away from my day job working in documentary. And I'll tell you my experience completely mirrors yours. Keep up the honest work and you've got a totally viable channel here.
Thanks man I appreciate that. I try my best to be as transparent as possible so that people moreso know what they can expect/how they can get through some issues that might occur in the field. Knowing other people have similar experiences to me definitely helps me as well to continue creating content like this.
I am a Florida bird photographer .....lots of habitats with water, lots of water bird photography opportunities and lots of alligators. The last one is my deal breaker from making a floating hide or just out right purchasing one. Your points of vegetation getting in the way and the need to get a bit closer are valid points but the 'gators are my issue. Cheers!
Yes, I would not recommend a floating blind in Florida 😂 honestly seems like a thing that would always keep me on edge. doing bird photography not knowing if there’s a gator close.
When I used to do cold water diving we would have very warm water that we would pour into the neck of the wetsuit before we went into the water. That made a huge difference, but we were still limited to about an hour before the cold would start to affect us. This time of year in the Northeast the water temp might not be much above freezing, so I think the only way you could use the floating blind during the spring migration would be with a drysuit.
There is a reason they are called “wetsuits”. Wetsuits allow water to pass through. Just ask any triathlete. A drysuit is a different beast. But they are also way more expensive. For the purpose of floating blind photography, I use chest waders. They have a built-in boot and are waterproof all the way to the top. I built nearly an identical float. But in the end, I never completely finished it because I decided that it was way too bulky. I also wanted something that I would be completely safe in regardless of where I stepped. I discovered that you can’t always see the bottom and it can be easy to step into a spot over your head. I decided to purchase a float tube. I am about 90% on the way towards finishing a camouflage hide cover and camera mount.
Man, thank you for the tips. I did plan on putting the waders over the wetsuit (hoping it would allow me to stay warm for longer) but ended up just not being able to squeeze in to them the day of. I also wanted some backup in case the waders leaked. Ide be interested in seeing how the float tube works out. Also, how do you mount your camera onto that?
I bought the largest float tube available on Amazon. It has an aluminum tube that runs across the width which is to hold a net with a fish ruler. I don’t use the net, but the tube has been used to hold a small platform to mount the camera. But, I’m working on a different idea. If I can remember, I’ll upload a couple pictures once I have things together.
Great tips man thanks alot. I like to spend a ridiculously long time in the woods and see nothing, and then ill be driving to wal mart and see an owl sotting on a fence post. Haha.
I see a pair of great horned owls every morning. I live in a very rural area but in a neighborhood. It is always too dark to get any photographs and I always see the pair on rooftops. I found a nest last year but they don’t appear to be using it this year. I will keep checking it. Some years a red-tailed hawk pair use this same nest.
Ebird isnt showing any owls species in my area. I live right outside of Yellowstone, so I highly doubt there hasn't been anyseen. Are people probably just not reporting them?
Had a lot of people through Facebook comment saying about using an infrared scope for owl spotting and I thought that was a pretty brilliant idea as well
I tend to stay away from heavily shared locations among photographers for obvious reasons. E-bird and chatting with people around have proven to be the best way I know to be able to go out and find your own.
I’ve been a professional bird photographer for several years now and I laughed when you said “ask people in your community for help” 😂 here in NY asking for locations of owls especially is nearly impossible and people won’t say anything to you even if you’re an ethical birder. I have found several Great Horned nests on my own after scouting EBird pins and putting in the time. My biggest tip with Great Horned is actually to go out midday before dusk during breeding season. GHO will usually start calling very early in the day around 2:30/3:00 doing their duet calls during mating season late December - early February here in North east . So you can still look with great light and calls and you will find them. They tend to call less once they’re on eggs but they still will duet occasionally. Also, they are less skittish during the day I have found and will less likely flush at the sight of you. The females will usually stay and the males will fly off first and are more skittish. 95% of all GHO I have found were roosting in evergreens cedars or pines high up along the trunk. I ALWAYS start at the evergreens in the area and most of the time I will find them there. The owls get pestered by the jays and crows so they tend to hide during the day to rest! The easiest way to find owls is to go to a location and look for the photographers with the giant lenses first 🤣 wish it were that easy most times! Just some tips I’d pass along!
Between attending local Audubon events and conservation efforts I’ve been able to build relationships with people in my community so I’m now pretty well trusted. I never did it for the purpose of learning locations but just moreso having a passion for learning more about birds and bird habitat. This is moreso what I meant by asking your community for help (by helping them also) which I should have clarified more. Thank you for watching and thanks for the tips! I’ll be sure to keep them in mind when searching next.
@@TheDirtyBirder yes I agree! Some people are just sticklers with locations and it’s just super competitive here! I’ll have to take a trip to PA soon and get some owl shots! Love your video and I am a new sub ! Happy Hunting!
LOL I am from Ny too and thankfully moved away. Everyone is all uptight and needs to loosen up a bit. Half joking here. But still, you guys have all the idiots chasing the snowy owls all over Jones beach and flushing the heck out of them so I can see why people are more guarded on locations due to the density of people. I’ll never forget the day I went there and people were riding motor bikes on the beach and all kinds of craziness in trying to find the birds. Here in NC it’s a bit easier to find people who want to help you. But owls are just hard to find either way but with this video it definitely helps!! Thanks!
@@gary_michael_flanagan_wildlife thanks Gary! I appreciate your input on the matter. Definitely helps people to know that some areas are definitely different than others when it comes to ethical photography and community in general.
@@TheDirtyBirder thanks! I appreciate the video. I have a hard time finding birds so I usually rely on the birders first until I learn the behaviors of the birds and then it gets easier. I’m actually looking for the smaller owl species here if I can find them. The ones who use the cavities more so.
