Walking underneath trees, one does not usually look up. As someone used to birding, I usually look up to see if I can find birds, but I cannot see that well, even with my glasses on. So it was a blessing when a neighbour saw me with my camera pointing at the little owl sleeping in the tree I walked underneath. I would not have spotted it otherwise! And what a surprise when my camera focuses on this beautiful southern white-faced owl (Ptilopsis granti).
Nodding away in the early morning, it was probably tired from the previous night's hunting. They normally hunt for larger insects (and sometimes small animals) which there are plenty of. Various beetles and millipedes like to walk on the warm tar road at night and I am sure these owls does not even think twice to snack on these juicy insects!
But that is only at night when they are active. I have never seen one of these active during the day, but I have also not seen them sleep in such visible spots! Maybe it felt safe for some reason in this particular spot? I am not sure. I did not spot this one, but the thicket was not that thick, and they are quite small. Maybe other predators are not out catching these owls.
I stood there for a while, taking some photographs in the hope that it would open its eyes for me, but that did not happen. And one cannot stand underneath the tree for the whole day hoping that will do something! Lots to do many things to see, as one might say. But I felt so fortunate that I could take some photographs of it at least.
As I walked past it, I tried to take a photograph from the back as well. Here the little owl does look like it can hide a bit. But in editing the photograph, I noticed its claws from this angle. I would not want to be the victim of its grip!
In any case, I really hope that you enjoyed the photographs of this stunning little sleepy owl! Thanks to the kindness of a stranger in pointing it out, I could snap these photographs. Unlucky that I could not see its beautiful eyes, but I will not say no to the photographs I managed to get!
Happy birding, and stay well.
All of the photographs used in this post are my own, taken with my Nikon D300 and Tamron 300mm zoom lens. The musings and writings are also my own, unless I stated otherwise or hyperlinked it.