I parked on the side of the auto tour road to watch a Water Moccasin when this Barred Owl flew into a tree across from me. It checked me out a few times but searched the water that was under the tree. The snake disappeared when the Owl first landed. I’m not sure if the Snake is what brought the Owl to this spot.
I photographed this Barred Owl July 12, 2018, at the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. The Owl was in the flooded timber near the Miner’s Cove area. Miner’s Cove is to the right of the 4-corners intersection (west side of road).
I posted a photo of a Barred Owl that I photographed last July (2018) near this spot (Barred Owl at Miner’s Cove). That Owl was in the open standing on a broken limb coming out of the water. I also posted a photo of a couple of Barred Owl Fledglings that I photographed last year in this area. This is a great place for viewing and photographing these Owls.
How I Got The Shot – Barred Owl In Flooded Timber
I had my Fujifilm X-T3 camera resting on a bean bag draped over the open window of my pickup with a Canon EF 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II lens attached with a Fringer EF-FX Pro.
This bird stayed at this location for several minutes allowing me to get lots of photos. The early morning sun was beginning to shine through the trees. I was concerned that the Owl was going to be dark but the Owl remained until I got enough light.
Camera Settings
- AV Mode
- Back-button focus
- Aperture f7.1
- ISO 800
- Shutter speed – 1/210 sec.
- .07 exposure value
- Auto White Balance
- Single Point, Continuous Auto Focus
- Multi Metering
- Focal Length – 400 mm