Habe in Seoul einen Zwergohreule gesichtet

Traveled into Seoul to visit a park in Gwanak-gu after hearing that a scops owl (*Otus semitorques* ssp. *ussuriensis*) had been spotted there recently. I walked around a few trails checking the upper branches of the trees until a passing hiker asked if I was looking for the owl and pointed out that I had just walked past it. Turns out it was perched in a tree hollow about 2 meters off the ground.

A pair of 직박구리 turned up and started screaming at the owl, causing it to retreat into its hollow. (Picture 3) I left before it fully woke up, but after [looking up the species at home](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_scops_owl), apparently they have „intense red eyes“.

Other birds spotted over the course of my visit include:

– 직박구리 – *Hypsipetes amaurotis* – Brown-eared bulbul
– 나무발발이 – *Certhia familiaris* – Eurasian treecreeper
– 동고비 – *Sitta europaea* – Eurasian nuthatch
– 노랑턱멧새 – *Emberiza elegans* – Yellow-throated bunting
– 박새 – *Parus cinereus* – Asian tit
– 쇠박새 – *Poecile palustris* – Marsh tit
– 참새 – *Passer montanus* – Eurasian tree sparrow
– 큰부리까마귀 – *Corvus macrorhynchos* – Large-billed crow