Short-eared Owl

From our recent camping trip to Red Rock Lakes NWR in SW Montana. A pair of these owls were raising youngsters at the base of a sagebrush. Typically, the male would do the hunting and deliver the voles to the female and chicks at the nest but this time he landed about 30' from the nest with the vole and didn't bring it in right away. The female became impatient and flew to the male to get the meal (which we only saw happen once). This was taken as she was returning to the nest with the vole.

I thought it interesting that the brood patch can be seen so clearly at this angle. Never noticed it till I processed the shot.

7D, 1/800, f/5.6, ISO 800, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, shot from pickup window on 6/26/10, cropped to 62% of original image, exposure adjustment in ACR, sharpened bird, NR to background, no further adjustments or processing, natural (but quite low) light, not baited

Comments/critique appreciated