Four Owl February!

I’ve been taking Obi to the Tenmile every morning at about 7am since late January. I’ve been hoping to hear, or see, a Great Horned Owl. I know from previous experience that they could be in that area, and since I had seen three species of owls, I became a little obsessed with adding a fourth to the year list.

Today, it happened.

The best part about this morning’s experience was that there were two owls. One would call from one side of Spring Meadow Lake and the other responded from across the lake. The one on the far side of the lake had a slightly lower tone. I was able to get a couple of recordings, but mostly I just enjoyed the duet it. Each owl called for several minutes. 

I have Obsidian and my wife to thank for this encounter. Typically, Obi and my wife go out the door at about 6am for Obi’s first walk- which is a neighborhood walk. Then I take him for his second walk at 7am- which is longer and occurs in parks or on trails. Today, my wife was still enjoying her tea when Obi presented his needs to us. So I took him. I figured I might as well head to the Tenmile. Obi, my coffee, and I headed out.

As we crossed the bridge over the Tenmile Creek, I thought I might as well take advantage of the beautiful morning and do a full loop of Spring Meadow Lake as well as our typical morning loop. The change in location and timing added up to Great Horned Owl success. As I came around the east side of the lake, I heard an owl across the lake. Then I heard one behind me, on this side of the lake.

We listened for a bit, then kept moving on, hearing both calls all the while that it took to get the min parking area and pavilion. For just over ten minutes, from 6:45 to almost 7am, we heard owls calling back and forth across the lake. Robins, Canada Geese, Mallards, Wood Ducks, and Magpies round out the full species list for the morning.

Morning walks, watching the sky go from inky black to deep blue to fully painted, and the sounds of nature are a lovely way to start the day. I didn’t get a picture of either Great-horned Owl and the picture I’ve chosen for this post is from a couple of days ago, but it’s from the same area. Four owls in less than a month feels kind of special.

I wonder if I can find the Great Grey again?