Blackburnian wrote:
Hi All,
Out with Dancad and company this morning at mud lake and stumbled upon the bird du jour. This great horned was located on the ground by a tree. He was previously seen on a branch near by but decided to fin "cover".
We had to cross a small part of the river to get these but the experience was awsome. All full frame shots.
Great shots Marc. Excellente. The exposure is right on and you got him with the eyes open.
Hey, I heard about you "crazy" guys this morning 
Someone mentioned seeing a photographer carrying a tripod with a big 500mm lens across the water. I immediately thought about you guys.
However, not long after that I found myself and another two birder/photographers doing the very same thing. We were debating whether to do it or not with the safety of $$$ of camera gear weighing on our minds. I tried to convince them they'll get another chance to photograph the Great Horned owl in the woods across the road. Then suddenly the girl said, "I'm doing it!" In she went trying to find the highest point to traverse across the river. Next in went her friend. Oh heck, how I wish I had a worn out pair of running shoes handy in the car. Here goes nothing.
I made it about 3/4 ways across and so did she. But her friend was more determined and actually waded onto shore where the owl was sitting on the ground. I heard the water was much deeper just before the bank. Thankfully nobody fell because the current was fast and the rocks slippery. I got some owl with eyes closed shots ( I was still too far away to make any calls to try and get its attention....maybe if I had fallen into the water....the big splash would have opened its eyes wide....where are those crows when you really need them) but the fun (that's debatable) part was trying to negotiate across the water without slipping and falling in.
Back on shore and walking around in soggy shoes I scoped the ridge to see what birds were up there today. Yellow-rumps, 2 catbirds, cardinal, flycatchers and some other ones. Then I heard the crows. They were harrassing the Great Horned owl (I assume) at the very spot we had photographed it earlier sitting on the ground. I waited patiently for the owl to take off and maybe head my way to get away from the crows. Had visions of flight shots in my head. That never did happen though.
My shoes are soaking in a bucket of Tide.
.
