Barred Owl

This is the same bird as in the shot at left. I fortuitously stumbled into it when I ducked into a roadside thicket to use nature's restroom. Steady rain had prescribed birding ahead of photography all morning, but I raced back to the car and grabbed my camera once I'd relieved myself. The bird was very trusting, and I left him on the same perch I found him when I departed 20 minutes later. I would have preferred a vertical composition, but the subject's position on the perch prevented it. I'm pretty happy with this result given the limited lighting under cloud and canopy!

Rockingham County, New Hampshire, 10/25/21
Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO II on EOS R5
1/80 at f/4, ISO 1600.