the Great Horned Owl hunt

[Jaedon]

So I got my butt out of bed before dawn this morning and went hunting the great horned owl. I have read reports of one being in one of my usual haunts so I headed out to see if I could find one.

Arriving at 6:30 am I took my time and listened to the radio and drank my tea for a few minutes before heading into the park since it was still very dark when I arrived.

At around 6:50 I headed into the park on my bicycle and rode about 4 KM in to where the reports had him located. I passed the time by getting within 20 feet of a hairy woodpecker who seemed completely oblivious to my presence and happy to pose for me for a good 10 minutes before seeing me and scuttling under a fallen tree and then flying off out of sight.

By 7:30 I was still having no luck and I was just about to give up when another crazy birder came wandering down the path I was on. We talked for a few minutes and he pulled out a tape recorder and played me the call of the Great Horned Owl so I would recognized it when I heard it. Well didn't that start a firestorm. Out of the very tree we were standing below comes a VERY loud HOOT and some branches crashing as he takes off dropping a freshly killed rabbit which was mostly eaten almost on my new friends head (I almost peed myself laughing.. but that's an entirely different story) So now the hunt begins. We watch in the new dawn light obscured by thick cloud cover as he swoops off about 200 yards from where we were standing. I quickly focus, compose, and shoot 2 frames and he's off flying again. I never got a chance to raise the camera again once he saw us as he would fly off to about 500 yds and when we got within range for a decent shot he was off again.

The good news is I know where he is now and will stand a better chance on my own next time as whenever I got a look at him through the view finder he was looking at the other birder and not at me. Apparently my new Camo suit was working in my favour. So without further ado here is my much anticipated and very blown out shot which is almost decent enough to give a positive ID. Next time I encounter this guy I will have fired off a few test shots at the sky before I find the bird.

On the way out of the park I was looking for my Kestrel buddy who was no where to be seen but I did happen to spot a Juvenile Bald Eagle again as well as a bird I have yet to identify but I will guess at it being a Grey Jay. It fits the conformation in my birders guide but I am not 100% on that.