Birds in Your Backyard: Great-horned Owl Photos (Finally...)

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Great-horned Owl Photos (Finally...)

After a year of trying, I finally got some good pictures of the owl. I got a pretty good one before but it was the back of it flying.

My first picture I got of the owl in December, not the best because it was facing away from me

We have a Great-horned Owl living in our backyard, which is fabulous! It has been living here in the winter for at least 2 years. That owl was one of the things that started me off birding. Last winter I would go back and look for it, I never got any pictures of it, we only had a simple point and shoot camera.
We never saw it at all in the summer but it keeps coming back in the winter. It usually stays right in our small pine forest, which in my opinion is an excellent place to stay! ;).

I see it fairly often when I go walking outback, but usually just see chickadees, woodpeckers, magpies and nuthatches.

A magpie, a common bird seen when I take walks.

Today I was walking outback I didn't see anything at first. Then our dog followed me and I think scared it up and the owl flew from behind me and landed atop a spruce tree. When I first saw it flying, it looked like a Snowy Owl, then it looked like a Northern Hawk Owl. When it landed though it was obvious what it was, it's ear tufts gave it away, Great-horned Owl. I quickly started snapping pictures.

The Great-horned Owl sat for a few minutes giving me a good chance to take pictures.

I was very excited, the first good pictures of the owl that's been here for years! The owl sat still for a while which gave me a good opportunity for taking pictures.

It looked around making no noise, often looking back at me taking pictures

A few magpies came and sort of dive bombed it, it ignored them and they flew on.

The dog came trotted up and I got ready for the owl to fly... Then the moment I had been waited for came, it turned and spread it's wings, majestically launching itself into the air silently and flew off across a field towards the setting sun, quite a sight to see.