From Jeff Bouton
It’s that look ONLY a parent will recognize. That look and appearance that says I’ve been cooped up with a of rambunctious youg’uns for weeks and can’t wait for them to fledge!
For a short period when the young are big & near fledging, the adult female Eastern Screech-Owl sits up in the mouth of the nesting cavity throughout the day. It’s a fantastic opportunity for birders to see these otherwise difficult to see birds. This was a pleasant surprise to find this nest yesterday!
The Eastern Screech-Owl is the only screech-owl species in the US to show a gray and red morph like this somewhat disheveled female bird.
She has very uneven pupal dilation - in humans, this is indicative of a problem such as a brain or eye injury - is this normal for healthy owls, their eyes are so very different than human eyes?
They have independent pupil control. It’s usually noticeable in photos where half the face is in the sun and the other is shaded. When they check their eyes after an injury (owls frequently get eye injuries when they hit things because their eyes are so huge, and of course they are flying face first…) they are looking for basically a lack of correct pupil response.
The last owl I got to hold, it was outside and sunny, and while she adjusted both pupils evenly, it was so fast!