February 12 My New Favorite Bird

I was riding my bike home from the Nature Center when, hark, an owl up in a spruce tree! It was so still at first that I thought it might be an illusion, but a better look revealed the eyes, ears, and definite, real feathers. This is an eastern screech owl (Megascops asio), and from what I read it is a red morph, most commonly seen in the Midwest (there are also gray and brown morphs). A little owl at only 8-10 inches tall, the eastern screech needs trees to perch on, hunt from, and nest in, and that is the extent of its habitat needs. Like most owls they are night hunters, but I this must have been hunting (or at least napping in the sun while hunting) when I saw it at noon under bright blue skies. I thanked it repeatedly for being there for me to see.