Stealth like, it swooped low and flew very near where I was walking, startling me out of my reverie and quiet reflection. With its wings spread wide, the bird was huge and kept my attention as he glided through the woods. I continued looking up, and followed his direction. Maybe one reason I pressed on despite the wet leafy terrain, getting my pants soaked and shoes all muddy is because I had recently seen Steve Martin's new movie, The Big Year, a story about birding, and was motivated to see and document a bird myself.
I was still several feet away when I watched with awe as the mighty bird made its landing on the limb of a tall pine . With his cat like stare he looked at me , as I looked back at him. Continuing to move forward, I saw he had ear tufts (horns) and no neck, and recognized what I thought was a hawk, wasn't a hawk at all, but a Great Horned Owl.
I was still several feet away when I watched with awe as the mighty bird made its landing on the limb of a tall pine . With his cat like stare he looked at me , as I looked back at him. Continuing to move forward, I saw he had ear tufts (horns) and no neck, and recognized what I thought was a hawk, wasn't a hawk at all, but a Great Horned Owl.
Disappointed I didn't have my Nikon, I took a picture using my cell phone. That seemed okay with the Great Horned one. In fact, he sat on that limb for the longest time, like he was posing for a bird magazine photo shoot - tilting his head to the side, and allowing me to take picture after picture. It wasn't until I tried hooting, hoo- hoo-hoo, hoo- oo, hoo-oo , that he stretched his wings and flew away.
