This appears to be a new, or old, type of owl, of the wood variety. This one happens to be another of the carvings in the neighborhood tree that was also featured in yesterday's PAD. I posted a small gallery of images of the tree carvings - http://www.pbase.com/fotabug/neighborhood_tree_carving

I recall another owl, in Montana, that I cautiously approached so as to not scare it away, only to find that it wasn't going anywhere. It turned out to be of the same variety. I looked around sheepishly to see if anyone had seen me. Fortunately, no one had. :)