AWAKENED ONE MORNING by a cacophony of crows, I peered out the window and saw a Barred Owl attached to the branch of one of our walnut trees. On impulse I grabbed my camera and climbed up to the roof of our house, almost eye level with the bird. That was 2017. In my new book, Aves—which collects what I consider my best pictures from the past five years—author Brad Matsen writes that he “likes to think of [that owl] as the trigger bird for these photographs.” And it’s true that the experience stirred something in me.
OWLS HAVE LONG had a special place in our imagination. I was curious about the reason the crows were so upset that morning—continually taking hostile runs at the owl, who largely ignored them—but could locate no particular biological or evolutionary reason for the emnity between these birds. Turns out, it is ancient. The Panchatantra, an Indian collection of five animal fables in Sanscrit, dated before 200 BCE, includes one story on the origin of their mutual hatred. It is one among many similar stories and myths, and I’ve relied on them. Since that day, I have often followed the calls of crows to locate owls and other large birds of prey. Except once, when I failed to heed the signs. But that’s a story for another day.
