This is the same hawk I photographed in flight from far away a week ago but I found him again yesterday morning and this time he was close. And he’s a dark morph by golly!
Many species just don’t look good in very low light but I think Short-eared Owls can be an exception, probably because their contrasting markings make them stand out so well.
There are very few bird photographers who don’t bellyache about the elusiveness of Belted Kingfishers and I’ve done more than my share of whining about it myself.