Joel Young Photography

16/06/2024

HAPPY FATHERS DAY BARNEY?
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A Barn Owl shot from last year that didn’t get an IG outing.

We watched this beauty a lot last year. He’s the most successful hunter we’ve ever seen and raised a brood. A smart cookie when you get to know him.

Sadly though, this year as they redirect the A59 right past his barn, the powers that be decided to block up his home and force him to find a new one. The rationale being that that’s safer for him - which to me seems like saying let’s cut off a leg just in case your hurt a leg 😕

Given that access has been denied to the whole area and we’ve not got out that much these last few months we have no idea if he managed that.

So here’s hoping that he found somewhere, attracted a mate and is brood raising again. I’m sure his old barn will make a very nice conversion for someone now it’s emptied of a protected species 😕

With
North Yorkshire
Canon R5, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM

12/06/2024

ELEANORA’S FALCON

This beauty is one of the species we were so hoping to see in Cyprus. Eleanora’s Falcon is an extremely rare visitor to the UK but they are residents in Cyprus.

We set out early following a tip from a local birding book (written in the 90’s) and, well, a lot can change in the bird world since then so we had our fingers crossed. The heat’s not too bad in Cyprus a little after sunrise, but the site was quite a walk across chalky cliffs and by the time we got there the glare and heat was punishing.

We were about to give up but decided to go around one last crag… and there it was - a male Eleanora’s Falcon, sitting on the cliff edge… I’ll post a shot of that later. But a short while later, in flew the female swooping around and approaching the cliffs from the sea.

She looked not dissimilar to a Hobby but was bigger than a Peregrin and closer to the size of a Marsh Harrier.

In spite of being burnt to a crisp and feeling foolish for not being fully prepared for the glaring heat, we were happy bunnies!

With
Cyprus
Canon R5, Canon RF 100-500mm F/4.5-7.1 L IS USM

18/05/2024

THE BEAUTIFUL BEE-EATER
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Karen and I had a wonderful week in Cyprus and a real highlight was the colonies of beautiful European Bee-eaters.

Almost daily they flew around our friends villa chirruping to each other and generally being extremely charming.

The villa was in a raised position so we got opportunities to catch them in flight at eye level (ish).

Such stunning birds!

With
Argaka, Cyprus
Canon R5, Canon RF 100-500mm F/4.5-7.1 L IS USM

30/04/2024

THE SPEEDY SAND MARTIN

We had a lovely day at RSPB St Aiden’s last week after a tip about the Black Necked Grebes from the lovely . We saw them (pics to come) but on our arrival we were mesmerised by the mass of Sand Martins swooping over the Reed’s and whizzing by our heads.

These little beauties are fast!
Small fast birds in flight are always a challenge I like to have a ping at.

I’ve found that the best way to get ‘em is using manual focus. I watch the flight path and pick a spot they seem to fly through regularly. Then watch them head towards it and hold the shutter down. A tripod is the way to go here (so you can set things up and watch without looking through the viewfinder)… but I didn’t have one with me 😂

This ups the challenge considerably… so I was very pleased to get these two shots. I could potentially have cropped in a lot closer but I actually like the context of leaving the bullrush fronds in the photo.

With
RSPB St. Aidens, Yorkshire
Canon R5, Canon RF 100-500mm F/4.5-7.1 L IS USM

20/04/2024

CALLING ELVIS
Swipe for the pano

This is Elvis.
Yes, we name the Owls we see.
Possibly a bad plan in terms of attachment but hey 😜

He’s called Elvis because he’s ridiculously handsome.

He’s paired up with Gerty who’s a bruiser. Beautiful in her own way obvs but a bruiser nonetheless.

Took this a while ago but barely had time to edit anything, let alone post, and found this lingering on my phone.

With
North Yorkshire
Canon R5, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM

05/04/2024

I DON’T NORMALLY GIVE A DUCK
(a chance)

A lot of twitchers get very excited about ducks.
“Have you seen the [insert the slightly rare duck name]?”

It’s normally half a mile away on the reservoir. Fine if you got a Swarovski spotting scope or a 1200mm lens but no good with a diddy 500 😏. And, honestly, ducks generally don’t thrill me… not like an Owl or a diving raptor.

Still, a low aspect like the members hide at Tophill Low can offer a different perspective and, in my case, raise the photographic value of the humble duck… in this case, a Gadwall.

Truth be told all birds, even the seemingly ‘plain’ ones have a magnificent beauty to them given a closer inspection. The detail up close of this fella shows that the general grey is actually made up of exquisitely fine stripes and speckling.

With
Tophill Low Nature Reserve, Yorkshire
Canon R5, Canon RF 100-500mm F/4.5-7.1 L IS USM

04/04/2024

02/03/2024

LOOK ASKANCE
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From a very close encounter with a new-to-us female Barn Owl we’ve nicknamed “Gertie” - she’s a bit of a bruiser 😂

Back in November we had about an hour with her and her mate with several hunting and hovering forays within about 15 feet of us as we hunkered behind a dry stone wall.

I love the sideways glance and the slight wing blur in this shot, which gives it a dynamic feel. And you’ve gotta love the details when they come this close 🤩

With
North Yorkshire
Canon R5, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM

26/02/2024

NATURAL MYSTIQUE

This is the local lass Barn Owl I introduced in my last post and it’s from the same encounter… but a very different shot. She sat some way down from us on the dry stone wall and the low angle created interference-haze from the wall and some grasses. I love how this lends a mystical vibe to the shot (often re-created in Lightroom etc).

Again, for you IG close-uppers, I’ve led with the crop shot, but I really love the context which you’ll see if you swipe.

With
North Yorkshire
Canon R5, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM

23/02/2024

LOCAL LASS

A few weeks ago we managed to get out and were surprised to see this lovely lass in a very local location. In fact she’s the most local Barn Owl we’ve seen!

This was moments after we first saw her and, lucky for me, she was on the opposite side of the road but on my side of the car. She left the dry stone wall but hung around, post hunting and sitting in the grass so we managed to get out of the car and had a good 40 minutes with her.

I love the blue morning light in this shot and, if you swipe, there’s a wider view which I love as a pic… but obvs the closer version gets lead position for you IG close up lovers 😉

With
North Yorkshire
Canon R5, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM

01/02/2024

IG PANTS BACK ON

Found a pic on my phone to put my Instagram pants back on with. Swipe for pano.

This is Dotty. A local Barn Owl we love.

It’s been an age… lots been going on… I’ll update you in the next post.

With

02/12/2023

FIN HEADING IN
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Blimey I actually had a moment to edit a photo 😮😂

Back in October K & I headed up to Scotland to visit Bellymack Hill Farm for a Red Kite fix. So I thought it was about time I picked one from the trip and share it. This is a wing-spread shot so do swipe to see the full bird in all its majestic beauty.

With
Bellymack Hill Farm, Scotland
Canon 80D, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM