here's a photo of a barred owl i took at discovery park in washington state. the barred owl was one of the three common birds in the area that i had hoped to see when i visited. the others were the pileated woodpecker and the harlequin duck. we found both. but of the three, this was the first.
it didn't take us long. five minutes at most. i noticed it perched, and i took the photo. a little later, we got to see it hunt. we heard a "thud" and looked to our left. we saw the owl on the ground. it made eye contact with us as if it was embarrassed that it hadn't caught it's prey, and it flew off.
since then i've wondered about this scar.
i don't know what happens in an owls life that causes a scar like this. i think it gives this photo a bit of mystery. i hope this owl is still surviving.