Little owl strikes a pose as it sashays down a stone wall ‘catwalk’
This bird of prey struck a pose as it appeared to strut its stuff down a catwalk. In the brilliant sequence of shots, the little owl stares intently at the camera with one eyebrow raised as it sashays along the top of stone wall.
The brown and white feathered bird was snapped striking a pose by Dennis Greenwood, 56, in a quarry near his home in Shawforth, Rossendale Valley, Lancashire, the UK, according to dailymail.co.uk.
The school site manager has been watching the ‘charismatic’ owls every day for ten years after buying DVDS about birdlife in his area — and is always on the lookout for a humorous angle.
Greenwood said: “They give you some fantastic expressions and such comical poses, that’s what I like to capture in my photography.
“Those walking shots took me a long time to achieve both technically and field craft.
“People don’t realize the size of the bird, they are only six to eight inches high.
“I’m always on the lookout for comical photos and I have a file I save them all in. This is one of my favorites.
“Little owls are my passion. When I first moved to Shawforth, I wanted to pick up a new hobby and I found two DVDS about local birds at a car boot sale.
“After watching it, I learnt about three little owl nesting areas nearby and I started doing circular walks around them with the dog. Ten years later I’m still doing the same.
“What I like about the little owls the most is their comical expressions. They are very charismatic little birds, you can’t fail to find something amazing to photo with them.”
Three years after picking up birdwatching, Greenwood decided to buy a camera and start taking photos of all the wildlife he would spot on his walks.
Photography has given usually ‘impatient’ and sport-orientated Greenwood a hobby he can completely get lost in, he said.
“In real life, I’m the most impatient person in the world but when I’m watching birds or in a hide I can be there for hours. I can pass time away,” he said.
“I’m normally a very up-and-at-em kind of person but when I’m taking photos I’m completely different. I love that I can just get lost in it.” His broad smile says it all. Sat at home surrounded by his haul of trophies Gary Oldman reflects on his phenomenal success this awards season for his portrayal of Winston Churchill.
The 59-year-old, who referred to the collection as ‘the wins’, said he was able to add ‘the biggest accolade of them all for an actor’, dailymail.co.uk wrote.
The award he was referring to was the Oscar he collected for his performance in ‘Darkest Hour’.
He told the Daily Mail he was ‘beyond chuffed’ to win the Academy award.
On stage he praised his 98-year-old mother, Kathleen, telling her to ‘put the kettle on’ because he was bringing home Oscar.
He said in Los Angeles: “I’m glad she’s alive to see this. I don’t think in her wildest dreams that she imagined something like this could happen to us.
“We’ve drunk gallons of tea and my mother hasn’t stopped smiling.”
Oldman is pleased the awards season is now over.
“I was saying to some of the other nominated actors the other night that as much fun as it has been, it’s also been a long haul. The film was shown publicly for the first time at the