Photographing Birds

I love photographing birds.  This has only been the case for the last couple of years.  Since I have started though, I have learned so much about their behaviors.  And now I find them fascinating.  Each variety has their own behaviors.  Some are gregarious and some are shy.  This isn't meant to be a post about bird behaviors because I am far from an expert.  I only mention this because I have learned that photographing the different birds takes different amounts of patience and understanding to get a decent photograph.  

Burrowing Owls seem to be relatively active during the day compared to other types of owls.  So when I heard there was a burrowing owl in the park, I knew I would have an opportunity to photograph them.  And as it turned out, I was right.  I have been back three different days to make a number of shots.  I always want to be respectful of all wildlife though.  Burrowing owls will let you know when you are getting too close by bobbing up and down.  When I see that behavior, I back off.  I use a 200-500mm lens on a Nikon D500 camera which gives me the 35mm equivalent of 300-750mm lens.  That allows me to not infringe on the bird's territory and still get my shot.  As long as I don't get too close, I can watch these guys for long periods of time giving me plenty of opportunities to watch their comical behavior.

Below are a few of the pictures taken.

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