Eastern Screech-owl - Petit-duc maculé
This owl has its eyes partially open and is leaning out of its tree cavity because a pair of White-breasted Nuthatches and a lone Black-capped Chickadee decided to try to mob it - behaviour that alerted me to the owl’s presence. I had walked by it twice in different directions, which says something about how much more alert you are if you might be the next meal.
Whenever I return to Ottawa from intensive work events - I often visit locations with high pressure disputes and stay until they are resolved or on the path to resolution - the first thing I do is grab a camera and head out to the woods or the River. Getting out takes me far away from that kind of intensity, and in the healthiest way I know.
And then getting to find an owl makes it even better. Late afternoon light and the leaning out made me think this might be a decent image. I would have liked to get one or more of the mobbing birds in the frame but they were pretty wary, sticking to flying at the owl and then veering back to nearby branches. I quickly secured a dozen images and moved on, with a spring in my step.
Some of the most beautiful plumage on any Screech-owl is on its wing feathers, and the lean out here shows just a glimpse of them.
Eastern Screech-owl - Petit-duc maculé
This owl has its eyes partially open and is leaning out of its tree cavity because a pair of White-breasted Nuthatches and a lone Black-capped Chickadee decided to try to mob it - behaviour that alerted me to the owl’s presence. I had walked by it twice in different directions, which says something about how much more alert you are if you might be the next meal.
Whenever I return to Ottawa from intensive work events - I often visit locations with high pressure disputes and stay until they are resolved or on the path to resolution - the first thing I do is grab a camera and head out to the woods or the River. Getting out takes me far away from that kind of intensity, and in the healthiest way I know.
And then getting to find an owl makes it even better. Late afternoon light and the leaning out made me think this might be a decent image. I would have liked to get one or more of the mobbing birds in the frame but they were pretty wary, sticking to flying at the owl and then veering back to nearby branches. I quickly secured a dozen images and moved on, with a spring in my step.
Some of the most beautiful plumage on any Screech-owl is on its wing feathers, and the lean out here shows just a glimpse of them.