The Story
I photographed Red, an Eastern Screech-Owl (Megascops asio), at the Avian Reconditioning Center in Apopka, Florida, United States, in October 2020, with his rufous plumage and yellow eyes. This stocky, short-tailed owl lives in eastern North America, from Mexico to Canada, in most kinds of woodland. It adapts better to towns and suburbs than many owls, yet often goes unnoticed because it is strictly nocturnal. The red morph makes up about 39 percent of the population overall. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/2500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400. The center says the dangers to wildlife are growing with habitat loss and poisons such as rodenticide, so teaching the community about birds of prey is one of the most important parts of its work.
©2023 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Eastern Screech-Owl (Megascops asio) belongs to the family Strigidae (Owls) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2019), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List