From Harold Wilion

People are always leaving comments on my Screech owl photos how they are always looking, but can never find one. I don't know what the big deal is. The owls are everywhere just waiting to be found.

l actually checked this hole 30 minutes earlier, and no owl When I heard he was out, it was pretty dark and it seemed like minutes before I could find him again. I was actually looking right at him and didn't even see him because he blended in so well.

The second photo is how he actually appeared through 560mm worth of lens when he already adopted a posture that was easier to see because he was getting ready to fly instead of when he was just sitting back in his hole. And of course, in reality it was so much darker than what appears in the photo.

If you want to get a good idea of this condition, bring up the second photo on your cellphone, hold it at arm's length, and squint so you are blocking out almost all light. There you have it.

So, even knowing where a hole is that may be occupied by an owl, sometimes the timeframe from when it appears to when it flies can be so short, sometimes just minutes, it can make for a tough challenge. Then imagine knowing there is an owl in a certain park, but there are trees with literally hundreds of holes to check and if you're not looking at the correct time, might still miss it.

But all is not lost. There are some Screech owls that can spend all day sleeping in the sun and very exposed. So never give up, never surrender.

1/8 second, f5.6, 5000