At the end of 2013 I set a goal for myself to really focus on my favorite raptor, owls in the coming year 2014. I must say it has been a great season for me with my owl projects. Not only I was able to photograph my first barred owl nest, I have been fortunate enough to photograph several Screen Owl nests.
I just recently finished photographing a screech owl nest on private property. The only difference between this nest and other nests was I decided to photograph it after dusk, which is something that I had not done before. At the beginning I set limits that I would spend no more than 2-3 hours with the owls in the evenings that I was there. This was to ensure that I would not interfere with them raising the owlets. In addition, I waited until the owlets were old were enough and started peeking their heads out of the cavity before photography at this nest had even begun.
My setup is pretty simple, I am shooting with my 200-400L lens along with two Canon 600ex-rt flashes triggered remotely using Phottix Strato II system. Both flashes were set up about 8 feet away from the nest on each side and flashing on each side of the nest and slightly away from the nest but not directly into the cavity. An additional floodlight was used behind the nest. I would photograph from a distance either on the car rooftop or the back of the pickup truck a distance away.
During the two weeks that I spent photographing and observing this family the use of flashes never bothered them at all. As soon as sun began to set the adults would start calling each other. At nightfall both parents would come out onto their favorite perch. They would start taking turns hunting. One adult would disappear into the dark and come back with prey. The prey consisted of lizards, moths, spiders, crickets and more. Food exchanges often occurred from male to female and she could then prepare the prey and bring it to the nest to feed the babies. The feeding occurred about 3 times per hour. Once the babies no longer to prey from the parent the young would decent back into the nest cavity and sleep. The parents would hunt and feed themselves and once they were full they would get back onto their favorite perch preen, sleep and guard the nest. My assumption is that several times a night this feeding the young took place.
Recently a few photographers brought up the subject of using flash on owls, stating it could cause temporarily blindness or cause harm.
I am by no mean an expert at all in this subject. I have read articles from both sides on the effect of the flashes on birds. I know this is one of the hot topics in wildlife photography. Based on the articles that I read, there is no 100% scientific proof that the use of flashes actually causes harm to their eyes or alters their behaviors. Their pupils dilated when dark to let more light in just like human beings. The brighter light of the flash will cause the iris to constrict slightly to allow less light in. What I noticed is that during day or night, after a flash went off, their pupils would adjust for a split second and then would return to normal.
I have been photographing Owls since the I started wildlife photography in 2009. I have used flash on almost all owl species here in FL. All these years, I have NEVER seen them fly off into trees, windows or fences or anything else that would be in their flight path right after the flash went off. I have never seen a change in their behaviors. This pair seemed to relish the added attraction of insects and such to the large oak that the flood light was pointed up into and continued to feed and hunt to raise four healthy young. They have brought in lizards, moths, spiders, crickets and more. All babies have fledged successfully. This pair has nested for eight years in the same hole in a very congested area of town with bright lights, lawn mowers and everything else directly around and near their nest. If the bright lights, flashes etc were such a concern the owls would not continue to nest in this location for the eight years.
I urge all photographers to go out and experience it and do not solely rely on studies that are online and passing judgment on others work without knowing how the images were made.
Below is what I found from Cornell Lab regarding the effect of flash on birds.
Questions and Answers
Q. Does the use of one or more photographic flash units harm the eyes of the birds?
A. There is no scientific evidence, one way or the other, that the use of one or more flash units creates a significant problem for the bird. Presumably the effect would be similar to what it is for humans, but no one knows for sure.
Photographers have been using multiple flash arrays since the late 1940s to document the entire nesting cycles of birds such as Great Horned Owls and various songbirds and hummingbirds. The process does not have a record of causing the birds to abandon the nest or of individual birds disappearing. Greater care should be taken when photographing birds that are actively feeding at night.
By: Troy Lim
