Great Horned Owlet

That time an owl winked at me...

Let's go birding!

 

Great Horned Owl Habitat ☼ Colusa National Wildlife Refuge ☼ Northern California Birding

Here are the photos showing just how close to the trail this Great Horned Owl's tree hollow is...

You'd never know an owl was hiding inside!

Sweet dreams, my wise friend...

Colusa National Wildlife Refuge

😴💤

Let's go birding!

Self-care ☼ Great Horned Owl Edition

Ever seen a Great Horned Owl clean its feet?

Yeah, me neither. 😏

Colusa National Wildlife Refuge

👣

Let's go birding!

Great Horned Owl in a Tree ☼ Colusa National Wildlife Refuge

Remember that gorgeous Great Horned Owl from the Colusa National Wildlife Refuge that I shared last week? (Read that post here.)

Wanna know how he got into this snug little tree hollow?

Very carefully!

It took some shimmying and careful maneuvering, but he finally got the job done!

Look at those amazing wing feathers!

There. All comfy and cozy.

Next week I'll be posting photos of just how close this owl was to us on the walking trail...

🙖

Let's go birding!

Great Horned Owl Encounter ☼ Colusa National Wildlife Refuge

This was the closest we've ever been to a Great Horned Owl while on foot before!

We were walking down the nature trail at the Colusa National Wildlife Refuge and this owl flew out in front of us and landed in a nearby tree.

We stood in awe with our cameras clicking away as he posed for us every which way we could ever ask for.

He even shimmied his way into a tree hollow right in front of us, too! (I'll be posting those crazy photos next week.)

We eventually spotted a second owl (his sweetheart, I presume), but she was sleeping among some thick branches and I wasn't able to get a clear photo.

Whooo knew we'd finally get some close-ups of an owl, steps away from an observations platform at our local wildlife refuge?! I'm tellin' ya, this is the greatest hobby ever!

What's the closest you've ever been to one of these magnificent creatures?

🦉

Let's go birding!

February Birding ☼ Colusa National Wildlife Refuge

You can find a wide variety of birds at the Colusa National Wildlife Refuge every month of the year, and February is no exception!

Here are a few of the birds, hawks, geese and ducks we spotted during our drive through the auto tour...

Let's go birding!

Owl Always Love Birding

At first, when I spotted this owl on the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge auto tour, I thought it was a species I'd never seen before, like a Short-eared owl...

I didn't see any tufted "ears" and thought for sure I had a new bird to add to my lifelist. (Dang, that tree branch is right in the way!)

But after some detective work, we're pretty sure this is a newly fledged Great Horned Owl...

 Either way, you won't hear me complain about spotting an owl!

Tomorrow's post includes pics of my all-time favorite bird, a cute flycatcher, and a strange sighting...

It's Owlready Friday!

When an owl flies off in front of you from one tree to another, it's a pretty amazing thing. Owls are one of our most favorite birds to see at the refuge and this one on the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge auto tour kindly chose a tree that allowed us to get some great shots. Any other time we've seen a Great Horned Owl (you can view those posts here), they've always been tucked into the dense leaves and branches and virtually impossible to see.

This owl was also doing a lot of "hoo"-ing and we watched as its tail shot up vertically every time it had something to say. (I'll post some video as soon as I upload my new video editor.)

Here's an idea of exactly how far away this owl was...

Not bad photos for my little point-and-shoot camera, huh?! Zoom, baby, zoom!

Tomorrow, I'll post photos of what I think our owl friend was "hoo"-ing at...