Oh isn't he a beauty. I love owls.

Ann

He's so pretty. Owls are kinda special to me. We used to have a persian cat that looked a lot like an owl in the face :)

He's lovely! Got any warm mice?

LOL, Barnmom! Didn't see any mice, but I am sure he heard a few voles under the snow!

I did notice that there wasn't a squirrel to be seen the entire time he was out there! LOL

Linda

Aw, he's beautiful.

Dear cousin, an avid bird watcher, said that if you have one, you probably have two. A pair of them will have a territory. He has a pair in the woods behind his house. He can imitate their call and they will come out to investigate who's in their space, lol.

Have you heard their call? They sound like dogs yapping and carrying on in the distance.

Here is one that hung around in our yard for a few days before moving on. It makes you feel downright self-conscious the way they turn to look at you.

Who says squirrels aren't smart!

What a treat! Lucky you.

Handsome!

Can I borrow him to get the rabbits?

I have them in the neighborhood. I hear the bark at night....and the rabbits are gone.
I love hearing them....but they are really vicious killers.
I have found the feathers of both barred and great horned owls in the garden right behind my house, in the hosta bed that is the foundation planting. I like to think they were nabbing voles not song birds.
Linda C

We have several that live in our wooded area. This is one of the smaller ones I have seen.

Their main call sounds like "Who Cooks For You?", however they do occasionally kind of "bark" back and forth. I love listening to them!

In the summer they drive Mojo crazy. They will call to each other from different corners of our acreage, and he will run back and forth barking at them. I swear they are playing with him, almost like they are trying to see who can freak him out the most!

I think his problem with them is that he can't see them!

It's funny.

Linda

How wonderful to have such a beautiful creature visit you!

I have a hawk visit daily, well maybe not lately as I have a rat in my garage.

I had a peacock for about a week but he decided to move on.

Oh I love the owl. I have never run across one except for a little barn owl once -- in a barn!

The most amazing bird I saw in the wild was a Pileated Woodpecker. I was staying in a cabin on a lake in NH when I thought someone was knocking at the door. I went a couple times to see who was there. Finally I looked up and there was an enormous woodpecker on a tree nearby. I understand they are quite shy, so I was honored to have spotted him.

The only place I've seen a peacock is in the zoo. I should start a "life list" of birds and other wildlife I have seen. I just adore it when I have unexpected "meetings" with wildlife.

Cathy, I think your hawk is a Sharp-Shinned Hawk. They love songbirds, so watch your feeders and bird baths.

Every once in a while we get one that hangs out above our bird feeders looking for a quick snack.

LOL at the peacock in your yard! He is beautiful. Is he an escapee pet of someone in your area?

Linda

Pam, we have a couple pair of Pileateds that visit our suet feeders on a regular basis. Here is one of the females. (Click to see larger image)

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They are certainly majestic, aren't they? But yes, they are very skittish. I have to stand very still to watch them at the feeders.

I am an avid bird-watcher, so I do have a life list and I have been very fortunate to see many, many beautiful birds!

Linda

Linda, that owl looks kind of peeved that you woke him up!

Dad loved to watch the birds, when he passed away I promptly laid claim to his bird guide...

Annie

Oh no! I thought I loved the hawk perched on my roof. I hope he wasn't stalking the other birds but now that you mention it I have had many few birds than normal for this time of year. I was in the yard with the kids and we were watching the hawk when he swooped down 10 feet in front of us and snatched up a black snake. So I thought he was a good guy.

I don't know where Pete the peacock came from. We have a neighborhood not far from here that has been infested (don't know what word to use) with peacocks for years.

What lovely birds! Love your owl Linda, and the other bird photos as well.

Cathy...a peacock in your yard! Did he escape from a zoo?

I just have blue tits, blackbirds and doves which come to my feeder, and parrots in the neighbour's trees that wake me up some mornings.

SharonCb

Sharon that"s incredible!! How beautiful.

Great photos! I've never seen an owl, but we do hear them every now and then at night, and its the most magical sound to me...

oh what a wonderful surprise for you! I LOVE owls. If anyone is interested, read Wesley the Owl -- loved that book.

Wow, Linda! I can't believe they come to your yard. How amazing. Most of what I get in my suburban location are ordinary birds like sparrows, robins, cardinals. I see and hear small woodpeckers. They can be very destructive, although I am amused by how perfectly round they can drill a hole.

Sharon, once in a while I will find a couple young doves running around on my patio. I know the parents are nearby. I just worry about cats getting them.

The barred owl is one of my favorite birds. True to the northwoods, just like me. You're lucky to live in barred owl country!

I've got snow geese here though, and they are quite amazing when they take flight in huge masses that look like living clouds. Millions gather in this region on their path to the tundra for breeding. I was going to go to our wildlife preserve this weekend to check out the yearly migration but I got snowed out. Will miss it this year but did manage to see some beautiful small flocks locally. Kind of reminds me of when the sandhill cranes flock back in MI, that's an amazing sight too!

Lpink, I would love to witness the snow geese migration! I bet that is an awesome sight!

I hope to get down to Wabasha before spring comes. The Mississippi never freezes over down there and so the bald eagles hang out all winter because they can catch fresh fish in the open water.

We went a few years ago but we were at the very end of the season and many of the eagles had headed home. But we did manage to see 60 or so. When it's prime time, you can literally see several hundred!

It's only about 2-1/2 hours away, so we can make a day trip of it very easily.

Linda

Its such cool timing... Linda -- literally the same night you posted this, I heard something I've never heard before. As I mentioned earlier, usually we just hear one owl, letting off a few haunting hoots... But on Thursday, I went to bed, and there were two owls outside, basically having a hoot-off! They were hooting constantly, back and forth, interrupting each other... Like a loud conversation! It went on for probably 45 minutes, which was also really incredible, and far longer than I've ever heard...

C'mon out here in early Feb. Linda! Can't say there's much ELSE interesting to see outside at that time of year, but we could do some inside foodie things!

Lpink, have you ever gone to Bombay Hook in Delaware? It is a stop on the eastern migratory path. The snow geese are amazing -- almost as far as the eye can see.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bombay Hook

Thanks, Lpink! I may have to put that on my calendar for next year!

Wow, that link to Bombay Hook is amazing!

A few years ago there was an irruption of Great Grey Owls heading south from Canada due to lack of food because of unseasonable weather up there.

We took a trip to northern MN to see what we could find. We were amazed! We were only out and about one day and we saw over 40 Great Greys, and about 20-30 Northern Hawk Owls! It was incredible!

Linda

Linda, your knowledge of birds is amazing. Me--not so much.

For years my brother (map expert for the military) triangulated with maps to find the perfect location for his interests and quest for solitute. About 8 years ago he found it in the woods. He knocked on the door of a run down house and offered the family a paltry figure for their home on 2 acres on the St. John's River. They jumped on it. Now my brother sits on his porch with a front row seat to watch the annual bird migration. He is on the Atlantic Flyway, which is a major flyway. It is an amazing sight.

Do you have any idea how lucky you are to even see an owl, much less be able to take a photo of one? I've seen one owl outside of captivity in my life and I have watched and watched for them. I don't even hear them anymore.

That peacock is a beauty.

Beverly

Wow, Cathy! I bet your brother's little corner of the world is a bird lovers paradise!

Beverly, I had only ever seen a small screech owl in my parent's barn before we moved to the house we live in now. This place has been a nature-lover's dream! I do know how lucky I am to see all of the wonderful creatures we have living in our midst. Since we moved here, we have a resident black bear that hangs around every summer, we have seen possum, timberwolf, fisher, wild turkey, sandhill crane, peregrine falcon, red shouldered hawk, coyote, and numerous birds that we never had visit our feeders at other homes.

We love it!

Linda

Great pics Linda! Down here we call them Hoot Owls, same difference as far as the name goes. We had one or a pair in the woods on the front lot at the lake. Loved to hear them too and they would drive Lucy crazy too.

Thinking back, anything would drive Lucy crazy. She barked for weeks at a new trash can out by the pump house. LOL

David