owl gets stuck in the snow after diving to hunt its prey

This tiny Pygmy owl had a hoot as it dived into snow, leaving just its head and wings poking out.
As part of the smallest species in Europe the owl, which measured about 7in from tip to tail, used its lightning-speed reactions to catch a vole hidden in the deep bank in Oulo, Finland - emerging with the creature after just 15 seconds.
The sequence was captured by photographer Jari Peltomaki, 48, as part of a new book about the birds.
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What are you looking at? The Pygmy owl pokes its head out of the snow after hunting in Oulo, Finland

Tiny: The Pygmy owl measures just 7in from tip to tail and hunts small mammals which are hidden in the snow

Mr Peltomaki said: 'The Pygmy owl was looking down intensively for about 30 seconds - obviously it heard a vole under the snow - then it very quickly dived in to the deep soft snow, very close to me.
'First its head was under the snow when it was looking for vole and it was almost completely covered.

 

'The whole hunting sequence lasted 15 seconds and the owl looked very satisfied when it flew off with a vole.
'I was thrilled to witness and capture this scene on camera.'
Mr Peltomaki's photographs have depicted owls hunting, nesting and even apparently giving the photographer a cheeky wink.

Pint-sized Pygmy owl tickled on head

The book by Jari Peltomaki and his friend David Tipling focuses on owls. Here a Hawk owl hunts in the snow

Owl you doing? This female Tengmalm's owl poked its head out from a tree and appeared to give a wink

Hunters: The creatures, including this Barn owl, will look for anywhere sheltered to nest during the winter

Majestic: The book covers Britain and Scandinavia. Here a Barn owl watches the sun rise in North Norfolk

Barn owls, such as this one in North Norfolk, listen for the sound of their prey scuttling along the ground

In one extraordinary photo, a female Tengmalm's owl stared straight at the camera lens with one eye closed as she stared out through a gap in a tree trunk.
Mr Peltomaki achieved the shots by putting up hundreds of nesting boxes in the forests of his native Finland and staking them out until the birds arrived.

The photos are part of the new book Owls

He said: 'These nest boxes are definitely beneficial for the owls in commercially harvested forests, where there aren’t many natural woodpecker holes.
'Tengmalm’s owls appreciate the nest boxes and other owl species nesting in my boxes include Pygmy owls, Ural owls, Hawk owls and Great Grey owls.
'It is easy to check if the nest box is occupied. You just need to give the tree trunk a little scratch and their head will pop out immediately.'
Mr Peltomaki’s photographs feature in his new book Owls, which has just been published with photographer and friend David Tipling.
Of the 'winking' photo, he said: 'This female stayed at the hole for couple of minutes and, while I was slowly walking around and looking for different angles, I saw it suddenly winking its eye. It looked really funny!
'It was like the owl was telling me: "thank you for putting up this nest box for me".'