In the nights during our stay I had heard the little owl and even though this owl isn’t nocturnal and therefore also semi-active during the day, I had never expected to see one during this 2 week holiday.
The drive from our accommodation in Moncarapacho to Praia do Barril (close to Santa Luzia) was about 25 minutes. About 5 minutes into this commute, we noticed a ball of feathers sitting on one of the power lines above the road. Unmistakable the little owl. After passing the owl, I managed to park the car on a safe spot on the side of the road, grabbed my camera and saw it had dropped down from the power line to a big rock on the other side of the road. What a beauty! Even though I had seen them before in the Netherlands, I had never managed to take a couple of photos, let alone so many without disturbing the little fellow! It was a good way of starting our day.
On our way back from our little excursion, we actually did a bit of a de-tour to enjoy the country side. With about 40km/h we passed a bit of an old shed with a tree next to it and again, I saw another little owl! NO WAY! While focusing on the one in the trees, I missed the 3rd one that day that was sitting a bit more hidden right behind. Only managed to see this one fly away when I parked the car.
