Most of those who knows me knows that how desperately i was looking to capture an owl since i got my camera in September. I’ve been waking up early for 2 months and heading out looking for owls every free day i got. This past holiday week alone i drove close to 800 miles in total after discovering a potential location to spot short eared owls. I woke up around 5:30 in the morning and drove to this not well known location 3 days in a row, i spotted prairie falcons, northern harriers, red tail hawks, greater road runners, loggerhead shrike, crested caracara but not a single owl. So this morning i decided to change the route and drive to a different spot which i was already quite familiar with, same place where i took my first bobcat photos. I had already seen others who had taken photos of this exact light pole with eastern screech owl but i didn’t know where it was. I drove around the whole refuge looking for a light pole that has a hole and i finally found it but there was no owl peaking out of it. I confirmed this is the same exact spot but i was thinking to myself maybe it’s not my day yet. I waited a few more minutes before driving off and first sun beams started reaching the top of the light pole and i saw movement.. i quickly grabbed my camera and aimed at this beautiful sleepy eastern screech owl who call this light pole home. Temperature was around -1 Celsius or 32 Fahrenheit my hands were freezing but i managed to take several photos before he went back inside. He peaked from the opening of the hole for about 5 minutes capturing as much heat as he can before he can have a good night sleep. It was a delightful moment since i started wildlife photography and the moment im going to remember for the rest of my life. Please enjoy this beautiful capture of the Eastern screed owl. Thank you!
Gears: Nikon Z8 + Nikon Z 180-600mm lens