Dan, I have twice seen them perched this way also, once on a stubby
little fir in the middle of a clearcut (somewhere near Cougar), and once
in a large snag in Yosemite NP in the middle of a big burn. Both times
were in the middle of the day, the owls fully exposed and visible in the
bright sun (the Yosemite was on a rather hot day, if I recall). However,
I don't know if that makes it 'usual' or 'unusual'.

Mike Smith


On Mon, 12 Sep 1994, Dan Victor wrote:

> This past Sunday near Steven's pass Janet and I hiked up the Rock Mtn
> trail. At about 3100' elevation we spotted a Northern Pygmy Owl sitting
> near the top of a dead tree. It was right out there in the bright 9:30am
> sunlight. As we got closer we could hear it's whistles.
>
> Is this an unusual spot for this small guy, out there so exposed in the
> sunlight?
>
> Dan Victor, Seattle, WA <dvictor at u.washington.edu>
>
>