Juvenile Great Horned Owl Today was the first day this year above 80 degrees in the Fox River Valley. So, a walkabout by the Fox River seemed like a good idea. The Villa preserve lies between Geneva and Batavia along the river. Along with a Japanese garden and a walkway to a river island, at the moment, it features Great Horned Owls; mom, dad, and baby. Well, the baby is growing quickly so now it’s a juvenile. Even on a weekday, it attracts attention so it’s perched high in the trees with mom nearby and a 30mph wind to manage.
This image was captured handheld. With a 810mm effective focal length, it held its own shooting along side heavy duty 400mm and 600mm f2.8 lenses on tripods used by other photogs. Was this image better than theirs? No, of course not; their images are probably technically better. Still, it’s not a bad image.
