Well, it does get better.

At about 4:30, well before it was getting dark, a big shape passed in
front of my window flying across the yard. Fortunately, it landed on
a branch of a vine maple at the edge of the yard and I was able to
get a good look at it - a Barred Owl! We've heard them 6 times in 16
years living here, apparently always just passing through. Our only
other owl encounters were hearing Barn Owls twice at night and once
at dusk seeing and hearing a Great Horned perched on a tree back in
the ravine.

This one sat on the maple branch for a while, letting me not only get
my camera with 400 mm lens but even put the big flash on it. I
snapped a few shots, then to my joy, it flew out and landed on top of
the bird feeder in the middle of the yard. It sat there for 10
minutes, while I got tired of taking photos (it seemed to pay no
attention at all to the flash), and then flew up and landed higher in
a tree in the next yard, when I lost sight of it. It was very
attentive to towhees and Song Sparrows giving alarm calls, but the
birds remained well hidden and then went off to bed. I was hoping one
of our rats would venture out into the open, but it was still a bit
early for that.

It really does pay to look out the window. As I'm working on the
computer, the window is close enough that I often detect motion even
though I'm not actually looking out.

That was very cool.
-----
Dennis Paulson
1724 NE 98 St.
Seattle, WA 98115
206-528-1382
dennispaulson at comcast.net



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