I refound both the female and male Great Horned Owls north of Tucson two mornings ago (travelled home to Duluth yesterday). I waited for almost an hour, and finally the female with her beautiful grayish white plumage decided to perch out in the open for a few minutes! While not a Sub-Arctic or Western Taiga Phase Great Horned Owl, these owls with their gorgeous lighter color morph plumage are in fact recognized as a subspecies of Great Horned Owls in the Desert Southwest.

Desert Southwest Phase Great Horned Owl (female)

Great Horned Owl (male … non desert phase … he didn’t seem to happy to see me!)

Shortly after sunrise this morning I found this pair of Great Horned Owls north of Tucson. They are obviously a pair, and the owls were sitting on opposite sides of the same tree. If I was back home, I would call the female’s coloration “Arctic Phase” (a recognized subspecies), but the desert is quite a long ways from the frozen north. Does anyone know if there is a “Desert Phase” Great Horned Owl?I assume the coloration helps the female owl blend in with the huge amount of grey perches and when she incubates and cares for the young owlets (not leaving the nest for 8+ weeks). Nesting has to be imminent.

Desert Phase Great Horned Owl … the female

Normal Color Great Horned Owl ... the male

Sometimes you just have to have a bath … with 1,000’s of your best friends. Such was the case when huge flocks of blackbirds returned to their favorite puddle. The blackbirds seemed to primarily bathe by species, and when it was the Yellow-Headed Blackbirds turn, they attacked this puddle with a vengeance! Amazingly about 30 minutes earlier there was not a single bird in sight near this puddle. Go figure?

I assume the huge flocks are because the northward migration should start real soon.

Yellow-Headed Blackbirds Taking a Bath! (see the movie … email subscribers)