Though not my primary goal, I was excited to add three new owl species to my life list in Mongolia. Chief among them was the Ural Owl, which I’ve always thought was extra handsome. I set aside a day in the forests near Ulaanbaatar to try and find them, and we finally got one at our last stop in the evening. Good thing too… it was pretty cold!
Canon R3
Canon 600mm
ISO 2500
1/125th
f/4
(Hand-held)
Max
Outstanding capture, Max. Beautiful detail in the owl and lovely lighting. Congrats on finding him!
Hi Max, nice looking owl! I especially like the trim around the face. Congrats on finding this target species. Looks well lit given the conditions and setting. Nicley done.
Looks like you had a very productive trip full of the wonder of new species. It reminds me of a cross between a Great gray and a Barred and looks the size of the former. Can you talk about the use of lighting here?
Kristen, this shot was taken with help of a flashlight. It was weaker than other spotlights I’ve seen used elsewhere (e.g., those used during African night drives), but I think this actually worked to my advantage in a way, as it kept the background branches more in shadow. In these situations I usually try to get just a few shots before leaving the animals in darkness. As nice as it would be to play around with side and backlighting to make for a more “artistic” shot, I try to be cognizant of the amount of time we’re using with artificial light. It’s more important for me to document new species, even with a basic portrait, in order to be able to introduce them to my audience (which usually is not familiar with a lot of these animals).
Hard to say, by the way, but up close it did seem a bit larger than a Barred!
Thanks much. It’s interesting to know what’s standard procedure once the sun goes down and I appreciate your sensitivity to the owl’s life and mission. So I guess it’s closer to a Great Gray in size. Must have been so exciting. I absolutely stink at finding owls before I’ve spooked them out of a perch, mostly in the kayak, when I’ve done this with Great Horned owls more than once.
I absolutely stink at finding owls before I’ve spooked them out of a perch…
The variance in owl personalities is something I’ll never understand. Many are skittish, of course, but you’ll find individuals in the same species that will let you walk right under them unaware and they just watch you go. I suppose that unexpected tolerance/sneakiness just adds to their mystique in my book. 
