GreatHorn

I was just leaving Rural King heading back to work when my wife called and said we had a situation. Bob our neighbor had flagged her down and told her a Great Horned Owl had been sitting at the edge of our pond not moving much and probably hurt. As I headed home I was thinking how was I going to rescue a hurt Great Horned. I had seen the talons on these guys and I knew in a fair fight he was going to win even if I meant no harm. When I arrived, my lovely wife Diane showed me the location of the owl. I started in that direction with my leather gloves on and going over in my mind the knowledge I had just obtained from local birding expert Barrie . He said that whatever I did don't mess around with the talons. He said grab him from behind and hold him away from my body and I should be alright. Well as luck would have it, before I got to the bird he flew to the other side of the pond. I walked around to where he perched in a tree and took a couple of pictures. He then flew back to the other side and again I followed and took a couple of pictures. Finally, he flew into a large ravine and disappeared. I surmised from all this flying he must not be hurt too bad. One thought was that he might have been grazed by a car and was just stunned. Well all's well that ends well. What a neat bird and since he (she) is at the end of the food chain, I figured the habitat is fairly healthy.

Also today I saw the first Rose-breasted Grosbeak of the season which I got a great picture of feeding at our feeder with a sunflower in his mouth, the first ever American Redstart on our property, a Yellow Warlber, and flock of Amerian Golden-Plovers all dressed up in their black vests.