Northern Saw-whet Owl Down-the-Barrel.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Obviously the same individual and setting as last image, but a full frontal stare for maximum visual impact, giving a different feel than that of the "pensive" look of the previous post. These guys are arguably the cutest owl species around!

The branch is what it is, and after first having my reservations about it I've grown to accept and love it for the dense habitat these guys often prefer.

Canon 7D + 500mm f/4 II, manual exposure, evaluative metering, 1/200s., f/4, ISO 800, natural light, handheld, FF.

[John Robinson]

! thouhgt little Owl eyes were cute but these take the buiscuit!
Great stuff
johnr

[Loi Nguyen]

Daniel, this is so beautiful! It's like a painting with the OOF foreground and BG. Yes, the branch is a bit unfortunate, but it is very minor. Loi

[John Hackney]

Well captured through the tiny window. Some birds just don't present the Nat Geo shot so you need to make the best of what you get. You have done that here.

[dankearl]

Another cool photo of this little Owl.
Not sure about the branch, it seems to have locked the focus, but I like the natural vignette.

[Enrique Patino]

i like the feel if this image.

[Richard Flack]

Lovely image Daniel. Love the penetrating stare! Love the branches above and will have to wait for the one in front of him to grow on me :) (but I hear what you say). Has a cool painting feel to it. TFS

[William Dickson]

Great image Daniel. It looks so natural, and those eyes. Wow. Thanks for sharing

[Karl Egressy]

Great portrait of this cutie species, Daniel.