On Saturday June 1st I wanted to search for Elf owls at Lytle Ranch Preserve in Utah's Mojave Desert, but had to give up because the ranch dogs wouldn't stop barking.  I ended up heading back to my car which was a few hundred yards away so the dogs weren't as loud.  AS I arrived back at my parking spot I heard a Western Screech-Owl singing from the trees nearby.  After a pathetic imitation whistle I was surrounded by at least 5 of these little owls.  One landed on a dead snag hanging out over the road which gave me the opportunity to try filming at night--something I had not tried before.  Below is the final product:

The video clips were shot using my Canon t3i camera body and a my Sigma 150-500mm lens, set at somewhere between 300-400mm.  The picture at the beginning used my Canon 580 ex II flash at 1/200 second.  The videos were lit up by a Surefire halogen lens shined from near the camera at the snag near the owls feet.  I shot video in 30 second increments followed by a few minutes of leaving the bird alone, hoping not to cause to much distress.  In all I shot 5 clips of this bird to make this video, before leaving the bird alone and looking for the others in the trees nearby.

A young Western Screech-Owl