Wow, was I surprised tonight when I opened up the pictures and started sorting through them. This tree was used by a family of squirrels last season and as I was walking by it, I saw this squirrel heading up to the top. So I made the shot when it turned towards me. Hadn't even noticed the owl sitting there. But when I opened the file, that was the first thing that I saw. Was I surprised. The strange thing about this one, is that it appears to be a Great Horned Owl, and from what I've heard, the Great Horned Owls and Barred Owls don't get along. And this is the exact area that I've been finding the Barred Owls in. Who Knows. This will be my first spot in the morning to check it out again, and this time I will be looking for an owl. Not sure if it's flying yet or not, as it seems pretty small. Just hope I can see it tomorrow.
This looks like an Eastern Screech Owl (red morph) to me. Probably an adult. They are pretty small (about 8.5 inches tall) You can see that it is not much bigger than the squirrel. What a great shot. That squirrel is bold. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Screech-Owl/id
