Micrathene whitneyi

Now a family resident in this telephone pole at the Santa Rite Lodge Nature Resort in the Mountains (up over 5200-ft), nearly 45-minutes past the sun going down behind the mountains. This was the youth, as one of the parents was constantly flying back and forth with food. I have plenty of shots of the butt-end of the adult too poking it's head back with with the catch of the moment. While the adult was out gathering more food, this young one could be heard crying out for food and attention

Good thing I took the time to setup and pre-focus on this hole. By the time they did appear, it was too dark to even attempt manual focus. This shat was mad just past 8pm local time. This was well worth the drive down from Phoenix, and the wait.

I'm expecting some folks won't like the fact that I've left the bolt in the shot, and didn't go for a larger crop on the Owl. Well, that bolt adds a good perspective for the small size of these Elf Owls. The Adults are less than 6" in height, North America's Smallest Owls. I'm actually more curious as to who dug the hole, and how long that took them. It appears to go in and down?

Shot in Madera Canyon, Santa Rita Mountains about an hour south of Tucson, Arizona - just a stone's throw from the Mexican border.