Burrowing Owl Family

• Photographer
  Jamie Johnston
• Technical Info
  Nikon Z9, 800 Mm (nikkor Z 800mm F/6.3 Vr S) 1/400 Sec. At F/10, Iso 280
• Photo Date
  July 1, 2024

Burrowing owl family on the open Colorado prairie. Mom stands to the left with a pattern on her chest, looking perturbed. Seven curious owlets stand next to her with white breasts. Dad is about 10 yards away sitting on a cactus, keeping watch and hunting grasshoppers and frogs to keep everyone fed. This was the largest group photo I was able to capture. In an effort to avoid stressing the birds the shot was taken approximately 80 yards away from their burrow.

In 2021 I started taking an interest in photography. Since Colorado is a wildlife rich environment I set a goal to take 400 photos a day, hoping this exercise would sharpen my skills. Of course, most of the photos were not keepers, especially in the beginning. But gradually the collection of wildlife photographs grew. I loved the sense of adventure, the practice of patience waiting for the perfect shot, and the challenge of finding rare and interesting subjects.