When I was out taking pictures to work from and with for my land-trust project — see: http://ietextiles0manninghamilton.wordpress.com/2009/11/15/332/ — I was walking along stretches of US 52, two lanes each way, divided by a median, little traffic.

I had pulled over on the south-bound shoulder, just south of Sugar Creek, parked with my flashers on, and was walking back to the bridge.  Something caught my eye, and right about head height, caught in a branch, was a wee little foxy owl, dead, its neck broken.  Its eyes had been pecked out, but aside from that it was unmarked.  It had been killed very recently, the body was still soft.  It was sad, but lovely to see it up so close.  Its feathers were incredibly soft, even the pinions, and its claws were truly needle-like, sharper than any cat’s.

RIP

I can only guess it was hit by a car and flung into the tree.  Based on the pictures and description, I think it was a male Eastern Screech Owl, in its “red” phase.  http://www.owlpages.com/owls.php?genus=Megascops&species=asio