From Bert Minor
This isn't a particularly great photo. Everything happened quickly, and I had little time to adjust the camera settings. I was taking photos of the Barred Owl on a tree and after a half hour or so it swooped down and right past me and landed on a tree thirty feet behind me.
I didn't know what was happening at first, but then I saw this squirrel on the tree and the Owl was going nuts chasing this poor guy round and round the trunk up and down the tree. It's not every day you get to witness an Owl on the prowl. They don't usually hunt during the day.
There was a happy ending for the squirrel. It managed to get away. Too bad I was flustered. I could have got an amazing, rare capture. Still--it was a thrill.
This makes me understand how mexican folklore thinks they're evil.
Spooky. Good action shot
Lechuza is a good owl monster!
I know others also have owl monsters as well. Aboriginal Australians have the Bunyip for example. She screams like a woman or child in danger to lure unsuspecting folk into the woods or swamps where they're never to be seen again.
I also know there are some Aztec legends with owls, like the chiquatli.
Lots of good owl folklore is out there since they're such great and mysterious creatures of the night! Some people will still kill owls on sight in menu places due to these stories though.