Uncooperative subject.

[MN Shutterbug]

Such a nice day, I had to go for a walk today. The closest thing we have to a forest in our nearby state park. While walking thru the trees, this guy flew out from behind me. The first photo shows where he first landed and my first shot. Unfortunately, a branch ruined this shot. He then flew to another tree just a few feet away. As you can see, he's already getting sleepy. The third shot shows him dozing off. I yelled and whistled, to try and get him to open his eyes. As you can see, he did manage to get one eye open, at the end of our session. It sure would have been nice to get a shot of both eyes wide open and in plain view.

[finnbay]

Wow, they blend in, don't they! Nice shots. Too bad about that branch in the first one, would have been classic. I do like the second one though. Nicely done!

[mmeyer]

Great captures Mike, That first one would only take a couple of hours of cloning to get rid of that branch . Too bad about that one but I really like him giving you the eye in the last one.

[Steve Foss]

I like that last one especially, Mike. Nice work!

Screech owls don't generally roost in the open in daytime, preferring to perch right up against a tree trunk or in a cavity. They're prone to mobbing by chickadees and a few other species of small bird. That's also one reason they keep their eyes closed as much as possible. Just like a snowshoe hare in the snow, the only thing that gives away a screech owl when it sits motionless against tree bark is those big eyes, and the little birds can find them that way.

[MN Shutterbug]

Gee, and I thought he had just had a rough night.

[finnbay]

I never knew that! Thank you birdman!

[buzzsaw]

I also like the last shot best.

[Dbl]

Same here on the last shot.