Tuesday, June 16, 2009

A Great Horned Owl Family in Colorado!

Length: 46-63 cm (18-25"). Wingspan: 91-152 cm (36-60").
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Last Saturday (Jun 13/09) my wife Paula and I decided to go up to Rocky Mountain National Park for the day. Though it is only a 90-minute drive from our home in Westminster, we rarely treat ourselves to the fantastic beauty to be seen along Trail Ridge Road all year round!
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Spring, however, is the season for birding in the Park! In the Endovalley region, for example, where many park visitors were picnicking, we happened to notice a group of birders straining to get a better look at something high in the pines...
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...it was a male Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) that had just been spotted, sitting by itself. Though widespread across most of North America, this large owl species is not very common and is always an attraction...
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...especially if its mate is not too far away...
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...and even more so, if their two fluffy young are in the same tree as their mother! This youngster was in a specially good position to be photographed! (All owl photos were digiscoped using my Nikon P5100 and 30X Fieldscope.)

12 comments:

  1. Why couldn't I see this when I went up with you! Nice pictures though.

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  2. I knew you would say that! Oh well, "them's the breaks". Just keep going up to the Park... sooner or later you'll get the shots you've been looking for!

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  3. That first picture reminds me of the Owl in the movie The Secret of Nymh.

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