2014 nov 2 great-horned owl

got some good shots of this lady as she waited for her mate, who was dozing a bit longer in his palm tree refuge by which she had taken a sit after leaving her day perch. he has a much deeper hoot and a more elongated hoot sequence than her, sometimes beginning with a few subtle, almost grunt-sounding hoots that preface the “typical” great-horned owl hoot sequence. these owls that I have observed the last year have a lot more vocalizations that i have heard in addition to what is typically documented or described in the scientific literature. i suspect they have a larger vocabulary than humans realize, some of it very subtle.

thought I was going to get a nice shot of a pellet barf on this one! false alarm.

rousing and shaking off the sleepy day

some serious tools …. incredible crushing force in these feet in addition to sharp talons.