On the morning of March 22, 2023, I drove to the Samish Flats early to obtain photos of one or more Short-eared owls. I had scouted the area the previous week and this morning set up a chair for a good vantage point of a seemingly favorite owl perch. As I was readying my equipment I glanced back along the way I had just come and there, sitting on a fence post I had just passed, and only about 20′ away, was a Short-eared owl, looking this way and that but almost totally ignoring me! I began taking photos in uncharted territory… it was very dark, I had a relatively new camera and I had never taken photos at the higher ISOs that would be required too compensate for the lack of light.
At this point I want to give a shout AT (not OUT!!) to the next two photographers who arrived on the scene. The first parked across the road but kept creeping closer and closer until inducing the owl to fly another 30-40 feet from me and providing a background of electrical equipment! The second photographer turned a large panel van around in the area, throwing gravel from under one of the rear tires and ultimately parking directly on the other side of my line of sight of the owl, giving me a bright white background (with rear lights left on!) instead of the natural muted gray. This necessitated me having to change my position to maintain a favorable background. Whatever happened to the concept of courtesy among photographers?
When I left the area I encountered a male Ring-necked pheasant beside the road and took several photos. I was rather surprised when the pheasant suddenly gave out with a mating display, part of which I managed to capture but with a too-slow shutter speed. Sadly most, if not all of the population is not the result of natural breeding in the wild but of captive breeding and release for hunters.
