Monday, March 10, 2008

Hoot!


This guy showed up the other day in the woods behind our bird feeder. He wasn't there to prey upon the songbirds but simply to rest in a relatively quiet spot. I first saw him in the morning not sure what I was looking at. He stayed until just before sundown.
My first thought was that I was looking at a hornet's nest left over from last summer. However, when I put the binoculars on it I quickly saw feathers and a beak. Turns out that it was a Barred Owl (Strix Varia). They are pretty common around here and we often hear them at night with their distinctive hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo-hooo-aw! (per the Audubon Society Field Guide).

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