I just took this photo about 30 minutes ago!

Last night my Great Horned Owl family hunted in my yard around 2:15 am. There is a large dead tree near my bedroom which they were using as a perch. I decided this morning it was time this morning to find the daytime roost. Success!

One of the owl’s common daytime roost’s is about 2/3 of a mile hike from my yard. Back on February 8th I first started watching my Great Horned Owl family when the Mom first sat on the nest and laid her first egg (thus … over six months ago). I had been listening to the parents romancing each other with “after dark hoots” since late November of last year.

Beware tunnel vision when birding. I watched Hoot for over five minutes before I realized another owl was watching me! Thankfully, I had been motionless and had not spooked my friends.

• While approaching an owl, if you are off trail and in deep forest, look at the ground. My owls put up with my presence “unless” I am a clod and step on a branch. Loud noises of a stick breaking are hated.
• Take your time. This morning, once I saw two of my owls, I spent close to 10 minutes just to move 30 yards.
• Take some images and slowly exit the scene. My owls now seem to trust that I am not a threat. I leave them and almost never flush the owls by accident.
• Get to know your local crows, blue jays, robins, nuthatches, chickadees, etc. All of these birds have different alarm calls, and will lead you right to the owls. I am often within 50 yards of my owl family in deep thickets of pines … without the help of other birds on many days I would never find them.

Crow!

439 people can’t be wrong! Yes, that is how many people have downloaded a free PDF copy of one of my children’s books as of this afternoon. It thrills me to help that many families enjoy the wonder of nature during these trying times, but specially owls! Make certain you get your copy (or copies) … follow this link.

Hopefully folks who read this blog understand my passion about nature and birds. Please note what you do NOT see on this blog (advertisements), and make sure you are aware that I allow anyone to download images for private non commercial use (see photo index). In these trying Pandemic times, the gift of nature is important.

However, just so I don’t sound like a broken record about my books and giveaways, I did go birding in Sax-Zim Bog this morning. Now that the sun rises a bit later (6 am), I am able to leave the house and arrive in the Bog a few minutes after sunup. Consider making a fall trip to the Bog. Right now the birds a flocking to prepare for the upcoming migration. I like to make a quick check for Great Gray Owls (none seen this morning), and then work the farm and meadows a bit south of the Welcome Center.

I found this beautiful Northern Harrier about 15 minutes after sunrise this morning. Any farm field which has newly baled hay is generally a good place to bird right now both for grassland birds and raptors.

Some closing comments … for those of you awaiting a printed copy of my new book, “Do You Hoot?”, it shipped via the US Mail about 30 minutes ago. Purchased sales have been amazing, and the first printing may sell out very soon.

The final edits go to the publisher this afternoon. Thus, today is the last day to get the pre-publication discount of Do You Hoot? ($12.00 instead of $13.50)

Go this the official “Do You Hoot?” web page to do any of these items:

• Purchase a printed copy of my new book
• Download a PDF version at no charge!
• Read / Watch some of the “Hoot” online extras (blog posts, videos, etc)

I took this photograph of one of Hoot’s siblings a few afternoons ago.