The Eyes Have It
Short-eared Owls get their name because of the short ear tufts on top of their head. These are not actually the bird's ears but feathers which usually sit flat to its head and are often only visible when the owl is excited or alert.
Although the Owl’s ears do a lot of the work when hunting from a photographic perspective the eyes are the real stars of the show! Piercing bright yellow jewels accentuated by a ring of black feathers! Most of the time when its quartering its territory, in search of prey, it looks downwards and there’s no eye contact with the photographer. Fortunately, in this image it looked straight at the camera and I was lucky enough to capture this special moment of engagement. Within a fraction of a second it had turned on its lowered wing and flown away.
Although the Owl’s ears do a lot of the work when hunting from a photographic perspective the eyes are the real stars of the show! Piercing bright yellow jewels accentuated by a ring of black feathers! Most of the time when its quartering its territory, in search of prey, it looks downwards and there’s no eye contact with the photographer. Fortunately, in this image it looked straight at the camera and I was lucky enough to capture this special moment of engagement. Within a fraction of a second it had turned on its lowered wing and flown away.
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