At the end of August, and after eight years of wishing it, I managed to find a species of owl that is very difficult to see in Argentina. The degradation of its habitat, the use of agrochemicals and the drying up of water bodies with surrounding vegetation are some of the causes of its difficult observation.

To be able to enjoy their presence and so close to my city was something extraordinary, since I was able to dedicate many hours a week to learn about their behavior, something fundamental to be able to achieve the photos I dreamed of so much.

The first day of waiting it did not appear before sunset and I thought it was not going to be easy to spot it. The day before I had seen a report in Proyecto Asio about its location and I did not hesitate to go to the place.

The “magic” happened on the second day, when at 6:12 p.m. on August 26th I saw it leave the ground. There it was with its harmonious flight at grassland level, concentrating on finding some prey. The golden light of the sunset created a perfect environment to raise my camera and start photographing it, there were only a few minutes left for the “blue hour” to begin, and the Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus suinda) was present in Bahía Blanca.

Between photos the sensations were many: joy, surprise, admiration, enjoyment. It was happening, it was giving me that “goose bumps” typical of the exciting and special moments that life gives us.

As the days went by, the surprises continued, to the point that there were three individuals in the same sector. Perched or in flight, and from different directions, their movements were fascinating...

The third week of observation was passing by, and at nightfall, at about 7.10 pm, a fourth owl flew very high...

I could not believe that in that small “patch” of grassland there were more individuals than I thought.

Little by little I noticed a decrease in the diurnal activity of the species and I began to think that my days photographing owls were coming to an end... I lived intensely four weeks that I will never forget and I understood more than ever that wildlife has its times, and that being patient and persevering teaches me the value of such important encounters with species like Asio flammeus, because this way I can understand, even a little, about their behaviors and document them.

Thanks to the study and constant practice of wildlife photography I met beautiful places and many emblematic species such as the Puma, the Andean Condor or the Southern Right Whale, and this encounter with the Short-eared Owl resembles all of them, nothing more and nothing less than a few kilometers from my home...

Thanks to Yamila Guzmán, Claudia Huizenga, Jorge Lusto and Tomás Paoloni who accompanied me in different moments of this wonderful month.

The equipment I used to take the pictures was a Sony Alpha 6600 camera and a Sony FE 200-600 mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS lens.