This field trip is dependent on weather.

Travel down in Cape Coral to photograph the Burrowing Owls. Burrowing Owls are small, sandy colored owls with bright-yellow eyes. They live underground in burrows they’ve dug themselves or taken over from a prairie dog, ground squirrel, or tortoise. They live in grasslands, deserts, and other open habitats, where they hunt mainly insects and rodents. They live there all year round, usually nesting around March. Between April and June the chicks are born. They soon learn to stick their heads out of their burrows. Hopefully we will see a few of these on this trip.

These are fascinating birds and are protected by local, state and federal laws. Harassment of them is strictly forbidden. Please click on the following link for owl etiquette written by Bill Majoros - Maps & Owl Etiquette. He includes maps to help identify places. More importantly, he also describes the guidelines for photographing & observing the nesting owls.

http://www.billmajoros.com/photoalbum/categories/new/florida2010/owlmap.pdf

Recommended Equipment:

• D-SLR or Mirrorless Camera

• A Sturdy Tripod with a Gimbal

• A super telephoto lens - see below for lens recommendations.

Getting the most benefit for this event you need to use a super telephoto lens. The following are recommended lenses.

• Tamron 150-600 G2 for Canon, Nikon or Sony (A-Mount Only)

• Sigma 150-600 Sport for Nikon or Canon

• Canon EF 100-400 II USM with a 1.4x Extender.

• Nikon AFS 200-500 with 1.4x Extender.

• Olympus PRO 300 f4 with 1.4x Extender.

• Sony Mirrorless 100-400 G Master - with 1.4 Extender.

Tripods are highly recommended. You can increase your work flow in the field when you add a Gimbal to it.

If you don't have the gear needed for this I suggest stopping at Johnson PhotoImaging to upgrade your camera gear.

You might be asking, "Do I really need that kind of lens power?" The answer is yes. A super telephoto lens will provide a much greater access to these magnificent creatures.

A normal telephoto lens will require you to crop more and therefore eat away at the pixels. Also normal telephotos, although very good, are just not sharp enough to create a crisp image of these tiny creatures

Field Trip Fee – FREE

Meeting Place – The parking lot of the Cape Coral Library, 921 SW 39th Terrace, Cape Coral, FL 33914

Call Johnson PhotoImaging at (941) 896-9921 if you have any questions.

Event duration may vary, somewhat, from the designated time - depending on group size, and group involvement. The event has an active participation part and expects full interaction with each student. The goal is for everyone to learn, create and enjoy.