Can you spot the perfectly hidden owl?
A photo of a little owl has left wildlife lovers amazed – as it’s almost impossible to spot despite being right under their noses. People struggled to spot the tiny bird from where it blended in against the tree bark.
The 55-year-old Paul Beech caught the confounding image last summer, but only just discovered he created a ‘spot the bird’ game. He said: “I had gone purposely to try and find the little owl, which is easier said than done as it lives up to its name and, as you can see in the picture, can be hard to spot. But I knew one was around in the area so I persevered and it paid off. Each time the bird moved from tree to tree, it would take a few minutes to relocate it, or even if you look away for a minute you can lose it. My initial thoughts when I took the photo was ‘I’m glad I had taken my long lens with me!”.
“It’s certainly caused a stir online – I suspected it might when I went to upload it. But it blends in so well that some people even have to have it pointed out to them before they see it, which is amazing when you think it’s sat right in the centre of the picture. It just goes to show how well adapted these birds are to their environments.”
Many users called the picture an example of ‘camouflage at its finest’. A bird lover said: “That’s why most of us never see them on our walks”. Another user said: “Wow incredible, took me a good minute to spot him!”
