A week of Barred Owls

 I have make no effort to hide the fact that I am slightly obsessed with Owls ( specifically Barred Owls ) I feel they are one of Mother Nature's most amazing creatures. The stoic, ghostly presence and silent flight make my imagination run wild imagining what must happen in the forest when the light fades to black.

Looking back over the last year of living in Hollis, I think of the dozens (maybe 50) of times I have driven down this little dirt road, early in the morning, 5mph, staring up into the trees hoping to get a glimpse of this bird of prey I hold so dear. Never happened.

Up until this past week I have seen and photographed only one Barred Owl in Hollis. A nice fall shot and great experience. That was it for the year, until this week.

Last Friday I was leaving my house and headed to Connecticut for Memorial Day weekend, not a mile into my drive I spotted an owl dead on the side of the road. I pulled over and examined it. I can tell it had been hit only hours earlier. After taking a few photos I dug a grave, made a cross and buried it with dignity.

Fast forward 6 days to 7:30am this morning. While on a 4 mile run with my co-worker Connie,  just past the halfway point of the run, I stopped dead in the middle of the small dirt road.  "Look!" 15 feet away, without a care in the world, this beautiful Barred was staring right at us. We watched it for 2 minutes and let it be. I was super excited and could not stop talking about how many times I have looked along that road for owls and never saw even a feather. With a tinge of hope about a half hour later on my way into work, I swung by the same spot camera in hand. These images are the result. Glad I checked it out!