Talk about an "eagle eye!" Paul Kingston was taking photos of a rare baby bird with his Nikon camera when five-year old Splodge, an eagle owl, swooped down, pushed him aside and got behind the lens, the Daily Mail reports.
Kingston and owl keeper Bryan Wintersgill were taken by surprise, as Splodge is a normally shy bird, seeming to appear "out of nowhere" to hijack their photoshoot.
"It completely threw us, he looked very serious behind the camera, as though he was lining up a shot," Wintersgill told the Daily Mail. "Despite the fact Splodge is so big, he is terrified of other birds, and he is very timid. So this was a surprise."
The hijacked photoshoot took place at the Kirkleathan Owl and Endangered Species Centre in North Yorkshire, U.K., home to a variety of animals from all over the country, involved in the rescue and rehabilitation of sick and injured birds since its opening in 1990.
"Splodge can be a little grumpy sometimes, and he is really really clumsy. He is always flying into things," Wintersgill added. "He tends to aim for something and then completely miss it. But in this instance he has aimed for the camera, and landed perfectly."
The baby owl the keepers were photographing was six-month old, long-eared owl Lartch, whom Kingston had traveled to the center specially to photograph for North News and Pictures. Apparently, this didn't sit too well with Splodge.
"All of a sudden, out of nowhere, I felt a waft and thud on the camera, and to my shock the owl landed on the barrel of my lens," Kingston said. "Once I'd moved away it took its perch on my tripod and to my amusement, it looked as though it was wanting to take pictures as the owl examined the camera."
Click here to see photos of timid Splodge the eagle owl bodly hijacking a photoshoot of a baby bird, even positioning himself in front of the camera lens.
