an owl with ears

[loki]

not sure if it's a short eared owl or a long eared owl cause i don't know my owls so it's an owl with ears.  found at a local wildlife reserve.  everything in the state except essentials shuts down tomorrow until mid may and it's raining today so this was my last trip until fall.  by the time we reopen in mid may the swarms of horseflies will be out.

[Clicker]

I love owls Loki...   He looks a bit irritated as if he’s just been woken up from a deep sleep ! Great catch ...and isn’t he well camouflaged?

[JamesT]

Hard to be sure as I don't have a clear size, but it doesn't look big enough of either long-eared or short-eared (both body length about 15inch).

From a quick scan of my American bird book, my best guess is an Eastern Screech Owl (6 ½ - 10 inch).

[Kobione]

I love owls too Loki - he does look a bit half asleep, and don't his colours fit perfectly to the background! Nice one.

[Denis]

How close were you to have taken this loki?

Love the way he/she sits snug in there keeping an eye out, and the body warm.

[loki]

On 23/03/2020 at 09:55, Clicker said:

I love owls Loki...   He looks a bit irritated as if he’s just been woken up from a deep sleep ! Great catch ...and isn’t he well camouflaged?

thanks clicker.  he's probably upset that he's stuck indoors on lockdown instead of chasing the field mice.  i was amazed at how well he was camouflaged.  but oddly enough that's how i spotted him.  there's usually a black hole in the side of the box where there was suddenly what seemed to be solid wood.  on second glance i saw the owl.  

On 23/03/2020 at 10:01, JamesT said:

Hard to be sure as I don't have a clear size, but it doesn't look big enough of either long-eared or short-eared (both body length about 15inch).

From a quick scan of my American bird book, my best guess is an Eastern Screech Owl (6 ½ - 10 inch).

thanks james.  of course i have to go and find the one owl that isn't named after it's ears.  stupid nomenclature.  

15 hours ago, Kobione said:

I love owls too Loki - he does look a bit half asleep, and don't his colours fit perfectly to the background! Nice one.

thanks kobione.  he was pretty well asleep.  he didn't mind me too much, but he'd casually lift one eyelid a cm or so when a car passed.

15 hours ago, Denis said:

How close were you to have taken this loki?

Love the way he/she sits snug in there keeping an eye out, and the body warm.

more than 6 feet.  social distancing you know...  i was probably 75 ft away.  used the 200-600mm and had the camera set to cropped sensor mode.  and then i cropped a bit more in lr.  thanks denis.