Ok....the owl. Went on a hike to PunchBowl Falls with my wife. On the way back to the car it was getting quite dark, and almost to the point of needing flashlights....we were walking...and we heard next to nothing.....but I saw it first as an owl swooped over our heads and landed in a tree right next to the trail. I motioned for Lisa to stop...and I put my camera pack down. I took out my D70 with the Sigma 70-200 lens and took a few shots....realized I was not going to get anything looking at the shutter speed. (and the resulting blurry shots) I punched the flash button and took a few more. The owl was actually very tolerant of our moving around him despit being only 3 feet away....he moved to a new small stump (the one in the picture) and posed perfectly for a few more shots.
After a few more, he took off...swoopped and hoovered over lisas head (like 6-9 inches from it)...as if to say..."Thats enough...now let me hunt" and took off.
We thanked him and the universe for such a wonderful encounter (with or without camera) and I packed up the camera...unpacked the flashlights...and we wound ourselves down the last hour of trail in the pitch dark.
Now...here is the shot....not the best I have seen, but ok. Little noise from under exposure.
Roman
...I have pictures of birds landing on my hands (taken by my wife with our canon P&S.) Even at the Sonoran Desert Museum (outside Tucson)The keeper was befudled when he caught me poking my finger through the cage and scratching the head of one of their raptors (I think it was a Coopers Hawk) I try not to be stupid about it...wouldnt go up and embrace a bear...lol...but in a natural setting...if an animal comes up to me...and I dont sense any ill intent...I interact as much as they will allow. During my stint of house inspecting (13 years) I never got bit by anyting (to the befuddlement of my co-inspectors)...till I gave them a tip....dont kill anything...I catch and release everything I can if I catch it in the house (my wife now knows to call me instead of squashing things) They can sense if you would squash them...and will often take defensive posture....even if you dont see them....which would explain that in living and exploring the Tucosn area for 3 years I did not see one scorpion and never ran into any venemous snakes. The ones that followed that advice reduced if not eliminated their "negitive encounters" with things that bite.