In your face....

[Betsie Storm]

This one is for cuteness rather than great photographic attributes. We found this young spotted eagle owl at midday in late December in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (read: extreme heat), sitting partially hidden in a thorn tree. There was a sleeping adult sitting on the ground under a next-door tree, ignoring the youngster's antics. I cropped it very tightly and sharpened; did not try to remove any of the lots of distracting bits & pieces.
EXIF:
Canon EOS-1D Mark II N
Date/Time: 2008:12:31 12:46:11
Shutter speed: 1/400 sec
Aperture: 8
Exposure mode: Av
Exposure compensation: +1/3
Flash: Off
Metering mode: Evaluative
Drive mode: Continuous
ISO: 1000
Lens: EF500mm f/4.5L USM +1.4x
Focal length: 700mm

[Daniel Belasco]

I like the shot overall. My first ompression was the thorns was "chicken koop wire" from a zoo or rehap bird park. But your explanation explains that. However in NA I think the thorms would be considered too distracting.
I think you made the most of what you have to work with.

[Stu Bowie]

Oh My, what big eyes you have. I like the partially open beak, and thanks for sharing Betsie. The Kgalagadi must really be hot in Dec.

[Harshad Barve]

you gotta love those eyes, lovely one
TFS

[Phil Ertel]

Hi Betsie, Good find. I like the in-your-face presentation and the cuteness. The out of focus thorns in the right hand corner (our right) do not bother me. I do find the the out of focus plant material (leaf?) that creates a green cast over the forehead of the bird to some what distractive. I think if you lighten the eyes a little and increased blacks of the iris it would help focus us even more on the eyes. A small increase in contrast might help the bird stand out more. I hope you do not mind but to give you more of idea of what I am talking about I applied these suggestions to your image. I also applied an average blur layer to remove any color cast as the image seemed a little too yellow to me (probably just my taste, you are the true judge as you were there). Thanks for sharing.

[Danny J Brown]

Hi Betsie: I vote for scariness of cuteness on this one. But its still pretty cool!

[Nicki Gwynn Jones]

Hi Betsie,
Definitely cute and I like the repost, especially the increased sharpness.
Best,
Nicki

[Betsie Storm]

Thanks all for the kind comments. Phil, appreciate your comments and time taken to do & post improvements- I like your version! I have a second image where the youngster is yawning, will apply your suggestions to that one too.