I did not take this picture.  I don’t have a picture of a Barred Owl, though I was close enough tonight to get one even with my kit lens…  (except that it was dark… and I didn’t have my camera.)  Well… “dark” is a relative term.  The woods where I walk never gets truly dark, especially in winter.  The orange-pink lights of the city reflect off the clouds, which bounce light back onto the snow…  I can walk all the way around the path without a flashlight and see perfectly fine…

This picture was taken by Casey Tucker of Audubon Ohio when he was visiting Arkansas.  I’m borrowing it because the background makes it look like a snowy day…  And that’s what we had today!  (I was in a school for less than 6 hours and had to brush 4 inches of thick, heavy snow off my car.)

Anyway, after supper I walked into the woods and there sat an owl…  I watched him for several minutes before going on to my Sit Spot.  I tried to inch closer, but I must have spooked him… It was awesome to see him fly absolutely soundlessly to a slightly more distant tree.

On my way out of the woods, he was back on a closer tree.  I stood and watched him again for several minutes.  Slowly I crept closer to the tree in which he perched.  He let me get right under him before flying off.

It wasn’t quite as exciting has holding an owl… But it was pretty special!