Early yesterday morning I didn’t expect to see much wildlife or even other people. I was a little surprised when through the falling rain two individuals came walking toward me. One of them asked me if I was interested in seeing an owlet. Without a second’s hesitation I replied affirmatively—I’ve seen an owl in the wild only a handful of times and had never seen an owlet.
We walked together for a short while and then he pointed to a dark lump on a broken-off branch high in a tree. There was a quite bit of foliage, but eventually I found a visual tunnel to the subject and zoomed in. At first, it was hard to tell what I was looking at, but gradually as I began to make out the mottled feathers, I realized that the little Barred Owl (Strix varia) was facing away from me.
I didn’t have much choice of a shooting position, because the leaves and branches of nearby trees obscured the owl from view when I moved to the right or to the left or tried to get a shot from the direction in which the owl was facing. So with my umbrella in one hand and my camera in the other, I watched and waited. I tried to be as stealthy as I could, but the owlet seemed to be aware of my presence and every now and then curiosity would prompt it to sneak a peek in my direction.
I am still going through my photos and may do another posting later, but wanted to share an initial image of one of the owlet’s glances in my direction.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
He has very knowing eyes
Yeah! Aren’t those kind of finds through the trees the neatest?
What a find. I’ve seen owls rarely, and an owlet, never. I keep looking, though.
How lucky to see this little chap – hope he’s not lost..
I reckon seeing an owlet is very lucky. Phitographing one give you the eye… Well that’s unique!
What a cute little owlet 🙂 So precious! Fantastic shot Mike!
Thanks for bringing nature into my little world! You find things that most of us would never see! It is a bit of sunshine in what has been a dismal week.
Seeing an owl is always exciting. I’ll never forget the barred owl that sat on the trail in front of me and let me walk right up to him. I love their big brown eyes.