Peekaboo Little Owl Chick
Two frames, a few seconds and a Little Owl chick peering from behind an old stone gatepost.
I had been photographing a family of Little Owls for several years in the field behind my parents’ property in Pateley Bridge, in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
I would photograph them from a chair hide in the field in front of the old stone walls and gateposts that the owls regularly used to perch on. Having spent so much time watching the family over the years, I had become familiar with some of their favourite places to sit and was able to photograph them while remaining concealed and allowing them to behave naturally.
Over time, the owls seemed to become familiar with my routine too. Whenever I visited, they would often appear shortly after I had set up the hide, almost as if they had come to check me out, before disappearing again for a while and eventually returning. It became a familiar routine and was one of the things I particularly enjoyed about spending so much time with this family and it really gave me an amazing opportunity to observe their habits.
A new generation
On this particular visit I was hoping that they might have chicks as I knew it was the right time of year and that I might be fortunate enough to see and photograph one of the chicks.
During this particular session I finally got my chance. One of the youngsters appeared around the old stone walls, and I was lucky enough to photograph it alongside one of the adult birds.
As the session developed, I realised there wasn’t just one youngster — the pair had successfully raised two chicks, and I was fortunate enough to photograph both of them.
Peekaboo
At one point I could hear one of the chicks calling… and calling. I knew it was somewhere close, but despite looking around I couldn’t work out where the sound was coming from.
Then I spotted it.
Peering around the side of a beautiful old stone gatepost was this tiny face, looking straight back at me.
I managed just two frames before it disappeared again.
It was over almost as quickly as it had begun, but it’s one of those moments I’ve never forgotten. After sitting there listening and searching for the chick, suddenly seeing that enormous yellow eye looking back at me from behind the stonework was magical.
The resulting photograph became “Peekaboo” and remains one of my favourite Little Owl images from the years I spent photographing this family.
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See more photographs from my encounters with Little Owls and other owl species.