Every time I walk through a forest I know there are screech owls nearby but no matter how hard I scour every snag or tree hole, I rarely ever find one. Their camouflage and knack for staying hidden is nearly perfect. They often sit right in the tree cavity and effectively block the cavity from view with their body. Their plumage closely resembles the color and pattern of tree bark and they even lay their feathers over the tree bark like this one has done. Look at the feathers on the right side of the bird’s face and its ear tufts, and how they blend right in with the bark. They’re really common birds in most places, you hear them often at night, but by day it’s another story. It’s as if they disappear altogether into the forest. Sometimes you’ll get lucky like I did with this bird. A group of chickadees had spotted this owl roosting in a red pine, and they’re scolding calls tipped me off to the owl’s presence. If it hadn’t been for the chickadees, I would have walked right by. Even when an owl is sitting more in the open like this, they are still very difficult to spot. This one just looks like a broken off tree branch. I feel extremely lucky any chance I get to see one and I like walking through the forest knowing that they’re there, sitting someplace watching through squinted eyes, whether I’m able to see them or not. [Audio Recordings: Jonathan R. Storm, Kevin J. Colver; Photographs: Gerrit Vyn]