If you did not say CA, I would have guessed Cape Coral Fl.
Image looks nice and sharp and full of detail. BG is nice and smooth.
Light looks a little harsh, the side effect of the light is the eye socket shadows. Fill flash can sometimes help if you are close enough. Also timing the image when the owl looks up at the camera can help.
Thank you for the kind feedback. And in retrospect I agree that this would have been a good opportunity for practicing fill-flash with my new 580EXII and Better Beamer... :) Next time. JR