A Close Encounter

Ellen and I were walking the dogs in our neighborhood about 10:00 pm
the other night. This little Screech Owl was on a low branch and
waited around while Ellen went back home to get the camera and he let
me get about 4' away from him before he finally flew away in utter
silence.

We enjoyed our close encounter with this really little owl.
They're only 8" or 10" long. He seemed preoccupied with looking for
prey (I guess) because I had to keep moving and making noise to get
him to look at me. Or maybe he (she?) didn't care for the flash going
off in its face. In our neighborhood we sometimes hear them making their mournful whinny that reminds us of a child crying in a really creepy way.

Jay Michaels