The following pictures are of an adult Eastern Screech Owl who was with two chicks at Enlow Forks (State Game Lands 302) in Greene County. They were taken during a morning outing, led by Deuane Hoffman on 20 May 2000, that was part of the annual Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology meeting. The chicks were hidden behind some folliage, and I was only able to photograph the adult. The pictures were take using a Fujifilm DX9 digital camera held up to the 32x objective lens of a a Leica spotting scope. The camera also has a 3x zoom which further magnified the image in the scope (i.e., to about 96x, compare shots below, some were set at normal and others at 3x and the difference in size of the bird in the pictures is noticeable). The owls clearly knew we were there, but did not try to fly away. We did not attempt to get too close to them and left them alone after taking the pictures.
Camera at normal lens setting and Eastern Screech Owl facing forward, toward camera.
Camera at normal lens setting and Eastern Screech Owl looking over its shoulder at the camera.<
Camera at 3x lens setting and owl facing forward, toward camera.
Camera at 3x lens setting and owl looking over its shoulder at the camera.