Who Am I?

[Troy Lim]

Size & Shape
People say I am a short, stocky bird, with a large head and almost no neck. My wings are rounded; my tail is short and square. Pointed ear tufts are often raised

Color Pattern
I can be either mostly gray or mostly reddish-brown (rufous). Whatever the overall color, my feathers are patterned with complex bands and spots that give me the excellent camouflage against tree bark. My eyes are yellow.

Behavior
I am active at night and far more often heard than seen—most bird watchers know me only from my trilling or whinnying song. I can be attracted to nest boxes or, if you’re sharp-eyed, spotted in daylight at the entrance to my home in a tree cavity.

Who am I?
This is one of the many pairs that I get to photograph this season. Their nesting season has been very weird this year. One pair started nesting back late December and another pair just recently started. I have been spending time with them after sunset. The male works very hard in providing food for the family. He would go into the nest with a kill and then leave the nest. This behavior only lasted a few seconds and he would do this several times throughout the evening.
5D3, 600mm II + 1.4TCIII, 1/200, f/13. ISO250, Two 600 EX-RT flash with Phottix Wireless Trigger, both set at 35mm at full power, Manual, on tripod shooting from a roof top.

[John Robinson]

Hi Troy
Great story etc and an interesting OOTB approach. I have to say though- I just don't like the hole ! It looks too man made although it may be not ?
Is this a Tawney ?
Cheers
John

[Troy Lim]

Hi Troy
Great story etc and an interesting OOTB approach. I have to say though- I just don't like the hole ! It looks too man made although it may be not ?
Is this a Tawney ?
Cheers
John

It is partially true about the manmade. The hole is natural from a palm tree. It is manmade to a point that it was cut into a certain length and placed strategically. It is not a Tawney but this nest has been reuse for many years.

[Karl Egressy]

Eastern Screech Owl, red morph. Much better than the man made boxes around here. I used to visit two boxes originally made for Wood Ducks and taken over for Screech Owls.

[Marina Scarr]

I find this image to be unique, Troy, and I am all about seeing a new perspective. Great that you got the feet/talons and nest sharp but too bad the tail couldn't be sharper for obvious reasons. Fun image.

[Troy Lim]

I find this image to be unique, Troy, and I am all about seeing a new perspective. Great that you got the feet/talons and nest sharp but too bad the tail couldn't be sharper for obvious reasons. Fun image.

Normally I would have deleted this type of shots, but I kept this one to remind me how active the male was to feed the babies. Trying to get the interaction between the two adults. Still trying hard.