This was intended to be a shot of a burrowing owl.
I followed directions from the surprisingly delightful shop owner in the derelict town of Cisco to the burrow. A small brown baseball ducked underground as I was at the furthest reaches of my 400mm zoom.
I waited.
I waited for over an hour.
I made a fruitless circuit through the sand fields for another hour searching for pronghorn, and returned to no sight of the owl.
Again, I waited. 30 minutes this time. The owl made the briefest appearance, then plunged back into cover.
I snapped this shot of a Cadillac, diving into the earth, in consolation for the owl which might have been. And also some obliging prairie dogs, less shy than their feathered burrow-dwelling counterparts. Because why not?