Short-eared owl

I have always considered owls one of the most elusive animals to try to photograph since most species are nocturnal. Before I moved to California, I only ever saw three owls in the wild, all of them barred owls. I almost died of excitement every time. Somehow, in only 6 months of living in California I have managed to see four different species of owls, some of them multiple times. Most of them I specifically sought out, but the other day at Hayward Shoreline, I unexpectedly came across a species I had never photographed before and wasn’t expecting to see: a short-eared owl. Not only that, I saw at least three different short-eared owls that afternoon. The last time I was at Hayward Shoreline, someone told me they had seen an “owl with a round face” and I rather arrogantly assumed they had actually seen a northern harrier, as they have owl-like faces, because I had no idea short-eared owls patrolled the place. So I felt a bit contrite but mostly REALLY EXCITED when a few days later I saw these short-eared owls.