A natural portrait of an owl and a squirrel is when the latter is in the claws of the former. Owls and owlets are generally fond of rodents, and squirrels do fall under their diet regime. Strangely though, I have witnessed squirrels quite often in and around owl territories. And they seem to be more curious of their predators than afraid. In large abandoned quarries, they hop around while huge eagle owls rest a few feet away from them.
In this case, while the Spotted Owlet was dozing on a lower branch, this inquisitive little Three-striped Palm Squirrel came sneaking upon him, sniffed around a little, and hopped past him.
Upon giving it deeper thought, the only logical explanation I could come up with is that the owls are not diurnal hunters (except perhaps on dull days). So when the owls are not hungry, even the meekest of prey can fool around — as long as the sun is high in the sky!
*For those unfamiliar with Hindi, the title translates to “Uncle, are you asleep?”
Text and photo by Sandeep Somasekharan. All rights reserved.
Sandeep Somasekharan (or Sandy as friends call him) took his headlong plunge into photography with a three-megapixel Nikon point-and-shoot he purchased in 2003. The avid reader and an occasional scribbler started enjoying travel and nature more as he spent more time photographing. Meeting Beej in 2008 helped him channel his creative energies in the form of essays and nature photographs that he started publishing on the Green Ogre. Sandy loves to photograph birds and landscapes, and considers photography and writing as his meditation.
He is an engineer by education, IT professional by vocation, and a hopeless dreamer since creation.
He is an engineer by education, IT professional by vocation, and a hopeless dreamer since creation.
Latest posts by Sandy (see all)
Nice capture.
BTW, status quo on the book. Will meet reviewer shortly. Happy New Year!