I've been looking for this guy ever since I heard that he hangs out at one of my favorite birding spots. He finally made an appearance for me early this morning.
Canon 7D
Canon EF400mm f/5.6 + Sigma EX 1.4X TC
1/1600 sec f/8 ISO 800
Nice find. Neat BG to frame the owl, kinda like a peacock showing off its tail feathers! I imagine you were trying to avoid some stuff in the FG at bottom, but I feel the comp needs more room down there. I also wish the near eye was better lit...was there any chance to move right a bit for better light angle (I'm saying this realizing you wanted that neat BG in the image)?
Ian -
A nice find. A first I thought the bkgd looked too busy, but it does an excellent job framing the owl.
You did well with the exposure given the side lighting. I agree with Dan that a little more earth/dirt along the bottom would improve the crop.
If you get another chance - to put the photo over the top, you'd need the owl to be looking directly at you, so both eyes would be equal. When i've seen them in FLorida, once you're in position for optimal lighting/exposure, if you make a subtle noise or movement, they'll often turn their head directly towards you.
Unfortunately, Daniel is right. Moving down would have given me blurred OOF FG which I didn't like (that's what I cropped off). I now know where he hangs out so maybe I can get it again with some better light.