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barred owl -- up close and personal!



Dear C-Birders,

Yesterday evening (around 5pm) I had a most unusual (and wonderful) birding experience. I was sitting in the backyard of a friend's house, observing a pair of gray catbirds. (I just love listening to their jumbled song and mewing notes.) Scanning the surrounding trees, my eyes fell upon something very similar in shape and color to a hornets' nest. I raised my binoculars and immediately recognized a barred owl! There it was, sitting perfectly still, in the shade of a medium-sized ash tree. I had been wondering why a pair of thrashers were wheezing and flying about. Feeling certain the owl would fly off at any moment, I crept ever so slowly toward it. I made it all the way to the tree trunk before he even stirred. Only 10 feet above my head now, he looked straight at me. I froze. He then blinked and proceeded to preen his feathers! It was if my presence made no difference to him! He ignored me just as he ignored the thrashers swooping down in front of him. I even watched him scratch his "chin" with his foot! As far as I know, he stayed there until dark. If only I had had my camera!!!

Leah


Leah Campbell
Cornwell, SC
faeriemaiden@hotmail.com

"In order to see birds, it is necessary to become a part of the silence." Robert Lynd

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