Today I had an excellent sighting of a Northern Pygmy-owl at Green River Community College. It was perched in a bare branch of a dead tree, and it was there most of the morning sunning itself. This is of course out of the trail that follows the edge of the hill just south of the campus. The dead tree is right next to the "gentle slope" trail that goes down to the Green River. A lot of clearing has been done in this spot and there have been a lot of tree falls in this place over the last fall and winter.

I have had great luck with Pygmy Owls in this forest since 2003, perhaps it is the same individual? Some of my encounters have been very close up. Sometimes the owl is being mobbed by all kinds of birds. Today the owl was being left alone.

There were many other birds out in the sunshine, at least four Mourning Doves which I am seeing more frequently at GRCC, a group of three Red-breasted Sapsuckers.....a lot of woodpecker activity in general, Rufous Hummingbirds and some Hutton's Vireos.

So come and look for this owl, it may hang around.


Mark Vernon
Renton, WA
mailto ma_vern at yahoo.com


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