For the third time in my life, I have seen an owl in the middle of the day... this time in our own back yard. We have a nice little wild (poison oak is wild, right?) Douglas Fir forest behind our house. The creek runs through the middle of the woods and it is a quiet (undisturbed by humans) refuge for deer, coyotes, squirrels, raccoons, an incredible array of bird life and the occasional cougar. We know there is an owl roosting somewhere back there because we can hear the momma calling out to her baby/babies in the early evenings (and sometimes very late into the night).
This afternoon DT happened to glance out to the deck off our guest room and thought there was a cat perched on the deck railing. He called to me as he realized it was not a cat. (The deck is about 30 feet off the ground.)
I understand why he thought it was cat!
From the top of the railing to the top of the third tier
of siding is 15 inches - I measured!
Hello - are you taking my photo?
He's a head-turner, all right
The owl looked right at me as I snapped photos for several minutes. S/he wasn't afraid at all. After a while the bird flew back into the forest. It was amazing. I suppose from the deck rail there is a good view into our field of an easy lunch of little beasts that live in fields. My Father later identified the creature as a juvenile Great Horned Owl.
Maybe the youngster was out hunting for something for his dad for Father's Day?
Best wishes for a wise old Happy Father's Day!