After two years patiently waiting for his moment, a Sooke wildlife photographer achieved his dream, capturing a rare moment when a barred owl went beak to claw with a crayfish.
Sooke's Brian Rundle was out in the early hours of Monday, Aug. 20, photographing tree frogs, when he stumbled across the owl perched on a log, staring into the stream below.
香蕉视频直播淚t jumped off the log and went into the water and started splashing in the stream,香蕉视频直播 said Rundle. 香蕉视频直播淏y the time I had my camera, it was sitting on a rock with a crayfish.香蕉视频直播
With the crayfish firmly in the grip of the owl's beak, Rundle thought the battle between the two was over, but the crustacean had other ideas.
香蕉视频直播淚 thought, holy hell, he's fighting back,香蕉视频直播 said Rundle. 香蕉视频直播淭he crayfish was pinching, still trying to get away. But eventually the owl just ripped the pinchers off and ate them, swallowed them whole.香蕉视频直播
The moment was one that Rundle had chased for so long, with no success.
香蕉视频直播淚've been after that bird so many times,香蕉视频直播 said Rundle. 香蕉视频直播淚've been out, I don't know, countless times, and got nothing. One time it did almost happen 香蕉视频直播 but it had its back to me, so I missed out on that one.香蕉视频直播
Rundle had all but given up photographing the crayfish-loving owls, which meant he was unprepared when the moment flew into his lap.
香蕉视频直播淚 was real happy, but the other half of me was annoyed that I didn香蕉视频直播檛 have my really good camera,香蕉视频直播 said Rundle. 香蕉视频直播淢y other camera not only is sharper, it handles the low light better than this one. But I thought, ah well, at least I got it. I've been doing this for 900 years, you think I would know better.
香蕉视频直播淏ut I looked up, said, 香蕉视频直播榯hank you香蕉视频直播 to whoever was looking after me that day,香蕉视频直播 he continued. 香蕉视频直播淲hen it comes to stuff like this, photographing wildlife, I find a lot of it is luck.香蕉视频直播
It's not unheard of for barred owls to eat crayfish. According to experts, if they eat enough, the feathers under their wings can turn pink, just like a flamingo. But Rundle香蕉视频直播檚 photos have captured the imaginations of people online, who have never seen the behaviour before or even knew that the nocturnal bird had a seafood diet.
"That's the kind of feedback I'm getting on Facebook. You could say that it is rare to see them do this,香蕉视频直播 said Rundle. 香蕉视频直播淏ut I'm sure if you ask the owl, it's not rare, they do it every day.香蕉视频直播
Despite finally capturing the long-awaited moment, Rundle is striving for more.
香蕉视频直播淢y background is video work,香蕉视频直播 he said. 香蕉视频直播淚 used to shoot for TV 香蕉视频直播 I worked on a kids TV show called Kratt香蕉视频直播檚 Creatures 香蕉视频直播 so I was arguing with myself that I should shoot video of the owl. Maybe that香蕉视频直播檚 a job for me next time, if I can be in the right place, right time again.香蕉视频直播