I’m not one to brag but at times like this, I find it hard not to.
It seems my yard is once again the winter residence of a pair of great horned owls.
Yep, you heard that right my friends, a pair of great horned owls have just returned to my backyard, hopefully for the entire winter season or more.
Owls are no stranger to my property if truth be told here.
I have had countless great horned owls and a few barn owls in the large trees that cover my yard off and on for nearly 22 years now.
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In fact, last year, a pair of great horned owls took up residency in my backyard for nearly 6 months or so, through some of fall, winter, and a bit of spring if my memory serves me correctly.
Each and every morning I went out in the yard, I was greeted by at least one and usually both of the great horned owls quietly perched in the large Siberian elm trees just outside my back door.
The owls seem to show little to no concern of my presence below as they sit perched about 30 feet or so right above me while I go about my yard work and chores.
They sit and sleep most of the day, only occasionally letting out a random hoot or readjusting their sitting position.
But when the evening arrives, almost like clockwork the large owls wake up and stretch for a bit, starting their daily routine of getting ready for another night’s hunt.
The great horned owl is such an incredible sight to behold, especially when you’re so close to such a large and magnificent bird.
(This video was from last spring of what I assume is the same pair I have this year.)
It’s even just as incredible to be woken up in the dead of night by an owl sitting on the large tv antenna on the roof just above the bedroom, hooting just a few short yards above my bed.
Their hoots are extremely loud for a bird and can carry for quite a distance, especially in the calm dead of night when the pair are separated, and hooting back and forth to one another is their way to keep tabs on one another I would imagine.
Well, I am excited the great horned owls are back, and hopefully, they stay all winter long.
The owls don’t put on much, if any, of a show during the day as they sleep for most of it, but just having them in the yard, so close by like this is certainly a treat for this old bird watcher, one I will never, ever get tired of.
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Usually, I photograph and write about the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and other bird-watching locales nearby, but today I had to take a break from all of that and just mention the incredible sight of a pair of great horned owls in my yard today.
Bird watching is my favorite pastime and it’s even more enjoyable when I get to see such beautiful birds right in my own backyard such as this.
