This beautiful Great Horned Owl perched herself on the corner of the garage last evening while I was on the patio. I called to Cap’n to bring my camera so I could get this photo before she took off.
I conclude that this is a female from the description of the owl’s call in a WikiPedia article:
Their call is a low-pitched but loud ho-ho-hoo hoo hoo; sometimes it is only four syllables instead of five. The female’s call is higher and rises in pitch at the end of the call.
This highly adaptable bird ranges all over the Americas, so it’s no surprise to see them here in the high Arizona desert. Some of the species they prey upon are snakes and lizards, so I’m very glad that they are here. Desert reptiles creep me out. 😮
After I clicked off the first shot with my camera, she turned to look at me while I clicked off several more images before she decided to fly away, this being the best one of them. Click on the image to enlarge.
They’re very interesting birds. Everything about them is geared towards being a ‘stealth’ predator, like their eyes, and the special feathers that let them fly almost noiselessly.
What??? We Crotaluses creep you out??? Say it ain’t so, Damsel!!!
Hey, I’m a girl. Slithery, wet, scaly, multi-legged, creepy crawlers do creep me out. But, not you Crotalus. Unless you do some of the above you’re OK by me. And the owl was beautiful. It looked fake.
A couple of years ago, we were at Damsel’s sister’s place in Stockton, CA. when a screech owl swooped by. Had it not made the screech noise, we would have missed it altogether.
The amazing thing about owls is that their feathers are fringed, which makes for totally silent flight. You would indeed have missed it, if it hadn’t screeched.
Well, we Crotaluses ARE scaly. We are the Rattlesnakes, after all. 😀
Some how I don’t believe that for a second. I think you are nice and smooth.