Wild Wednesday, Eastern Screech Owl, Red Variety

This is the last owl I will be featuring from the Howell Nature Center, Birds of Prey Photography Workshop. This is the Red Variety of the Eastern Screech Owl. (See July 7th, 2010 post for the Grey Variety). Both colors are found in Michigan. This owl is squinting because the sun's rays were making their way around the shadow of the vertical branch. Owls are nocturnal and weren't really happy with having to be awake during the day. The owl's eyes are huge for the size of its head and the head would twist like a pivot to follow the camera as I moved around the owl.
The Howell Nature Center also has an event called Owl Nights where you have a small informative session where you learn about owls and get to see them up close, then you go for a nighttime nature walk through the woods where the guides play recorded owl calls and the owls in nature answer back. It was amazing! We heard the Great Horned deep whoo-ho-whoo, and the Screech Owl's more shrill call. I've heard that sound so many times in the woods, and never knew it was a Screech Owl. I thought it was a tree frog.