Location: Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, Oak Harbor, OH (shore of Lake Erie)
Shot: May 8, 2023
Photographer: Grace Dunklee Cohen
Gear: EOS 60D 100-500 at 400 mm
Settings: 1/1000 - f / 6.3, ISO 800 handheld
I tried for nearly an hour to locate this delightful little owl, tucked away in a dead tree limb. Not
the only one, however, there were numerous birders searching for this prize ??“ as folks further
up and down the Maggee Marsh boardwalk reported seeing it.
A trip to Magee Marsh to photograph the (mostly) warbler migration as thousands of
exhausted birds pasue along the shore of Lake Erie to rest and feed for a few days before their
final big water crossing to reach their breeding grounds. As luck would have it, this migration
coincides with the very earliest unfurling of spring leaves. So with scant foliage, these birds are
(mostly) easier to spot and haven’t a lot of foliage to hide behind, making this location a fine
place for shooting birds. This image was captured in 2023, which I was able to locate in my
jumbled Lightroom Classic catalog. My sister and I have done this shoot for several years now
and eagerly look forward to our planned shoot at the end of April into early May.
I had to do some tight cropping, quite a bit of color adjustment, and I actually backed out the
green tinge of distant leaves, then bumped the black up a bit to bring out the texture of the
tree bark. (I could have used AI to rework the area, but chose to noodle it out on my own)
7 comments posted
Dr Isaac Vaisman
Grace, great capture of the Eastern Screech-Owl in nature. Good position of the bird on the tree. Because its color similar to the bark of the tree, it is somewhat difficult to separate the. Since you did a very large crop, the final image is slightly soft. Posted: 04/02/2026 19:27:19
Doug Fischer
I would love to get a shot of an owl like this. But I am still looking and hoping. This shot could use some sharpening though. I did some editing: sharpening, brightening eyes, vignette around owl and replacing the background.
Are you still using the Canon EOS 60D? Posted: 04/02/2026 19:40:41
Grace Cohen
Hi Doug - I like your edits, but the eyes look creepy - they were actually grey-blue. After adding my 2 Canon R5's, I retired all of my Canon 5D Mark II, IV, V and 60D bodies. I only use my R5s now. Don't know what to do with the old bodies and lenses. Posted: 04/08/2026 00:59:55
Gerhard Geldenhuys
Wonderful shot of a very seldsom bird Grace. I have made a few changes for your consideration . I separated the owl from its background and darkened the image , slightly on a separate layer. Lightened the tree also slightly on another layer. I also gave those beautiful eyes a lift. Trust it is to your liking. Posted: 04/06/2026 08:57:19
Grace Cohen
Thank you, Gerhard! More realistic edits! I just updated my On1 RAW subscription so I may try the newly-updated Resize AI to bring out details. Posted: 04/08/2026 01:08:12
Sarita Yeola
Grace, This is a great find, well worth time for sure. It is so well camouflaged in the tree. Have you considered not cropping in this tightly? I would be see the magic of the Resize AI. Posted: 04/12/2026 21:00:14
Gloria Grandolini
Grace, I love the image - it is so hard to photograph owls. I really like the fact that you got it with the camouflaging tree bark behind it. I do agree that the proposed edits emphasize the eyes and bring out the contours of the body more clearly. Posted: 04/17/2026 20:05:02
