Little Owl Hide

INTERESTED IN PHOTOGRAPHING WILD LITTLE OWLS?

HIDE STATUS: CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE

I am certainly hoping to be able to open and operate this hide during 2025, dates and bookings for the Spring and Summer will be available from the end of March/early April depending on if it looks like the owls will pair up this year and are likely to breed.

After twelve years spent observing and photographing wild Little Owls at this well established site, I hope to be able to offer photographers a hide that is among the best locations in the UK to photograph wild Little Owls, and Neil Neville Photography will continue to be committed to bringing you a high quality Little Owl experience.





The hide itself is designed by a wildlife photographer for wildlife photographers, and is set on rural farmland in South Buckinghamshire, within the territory of resident wild Little Owl and my aim is to be able to provide photographers with a good selection of perched and flight images of the Owls, with the possibility of capturing any young owlets once they emerge mid summer.

Careful attention has been taken to give photographers the opportunity to photograph these stunning, charismatic and characterful birds of prey on a variety of natural perches with clean backgrounds, maximising the best available light at the site, whilst being sympathetic to the natural environment, and keeping any disturbances to the birds to an absolute minimum.

The hide is suitable for all levels of photographer, from beginners who are new to wildlife photography and wish to learn more about this incredibly rewarding style of photography via one to one tuition, through to seasoned professionals looking to add to their portfolios, or maybe you are an enthusiast photographer looking to hone your skills with a wild subject, whatever your requirements are I am sure I can cater for them. Please note there is a maximum limit of two photographers in the hide on any session.

Lighting wise, the hide faces east and therefore faces the rising light in the mornings. This allows photographers to capture creative back lit images of the owls. Then, as the light moves around to the afternoon and evening, the perches are more front lit.
As for backgrounds, I have purposely set the hide in a position that makes the most of a tall stand of distant trees which gives superb diffused backgrounds to your images. Not only that, the colours in the trees are constantly changing during the day with different lighting conditions, which can range from steel grey in the mornings to deep yellow and orange towards sunset.

Although resident all year round, for the winter months, the Little Owl are mainly nocturnal and pretty secretive, so generally speaking the owls are most active in daylight at this site during their breeding season, which can be from early to mid April through until late August even into September, and a typical day would see the owls active around dawn until mid morning then again mid afternoon through until dusk and beyond, with the middle part of the day usually spent roosting, however it is quite possible that the owls could show at the hide at any time, especially if they are feeding young in the nest. However I would generally advise either a morning session or an afternoon/evening session as a full day in the hide can be extremely long.





Equipment wise, you will need a DSLR or Mirrorless camera, either full frame or crop sensor, a lens in the 300mm-600mm range, ideally with a fast maximum aperture of F2.8 or F4 and extenders ( if using a 300mm lens with a full frame camera body ).
Due to space constraints in the hide a tripod is not necessary as I will provide my own design, high quality,custom made plates Please bring along a gimbal or ball head with you to use the Plates. Alternatively, high quality beanbags are also provided should you require them instead. Also, a remote shutter release of some description will also be of use particularly when trying to obtain certain types of flight shots. Don't forget spare batteries and memory cards too.

For Canon users, I am able to provide a EF 500mm f4L IS MK2 lens plus a 1.4X extender if required for you to hire and use at an extra cost, but please check the availability for this service at the time of enquiry.

To view images taken from the hide, please click here

To see what customers thought of the Little Owl hide on previous visits please click here






IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please remember, Little Owls are wary predators and are not a bird that can be photographed in five minutes flat! They require patience and very good, disciplined, hide craft to achieve the best results. And whilst I will work hard and do my very best to ensure that the owls will appear for you, and you can hopefully leave with some very memorable images of the birds, please remember and accept that these are wild birds and do not appear on demand, they will only appear when they want to and as with all wildlife there are absolutely no guarantees.

If I am able to operate the hide, bookings for the Spring and Summer 2024 will be available from the end of March/early April. For more information, availability of dates, and prices, please get in touch then via the contact page and I will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have on any aspect of the Little Owl Hide. A more detailed PDF with further information will be provided with your booking.

Thank you for your interest in the Little Owl Hide and I look forward to hearing from you soon.