[Birdtalk] Northern Saw-whet Owl Pictures

[Tim Avery]

Yesterday (09/10) I headed in the mountains to the south of Strawberry where my
dad was camping, to pick up a few month birds I needed, and look for a couple
year birds that were still evading me.  I took an early afternoon nap and after
about an hour I could hear the distinct sound of scolding chickadees.  Coming
to my senses I listened closer and could pick out Dark-eyed Juncos chirping as
well.  It sounded like a mad pack of birds, and the first thing that came to
mind was OWL!  I grabbed my camera and put on some sneakers and headed in the
direction of the commotion.  It was less than 150 feet from camp, and I could
see chickadees buzzing around and fluttering their wings as well as squealing
wildly.  At least 15 chickadees and about an equal number of juncos, plus
several Yellow-rumped Warbler were busily moving around one tree.  It took
about 5 minutes before I finally found the source of the trouble:

http://timaverybirding.com/photos/sept07/nswo_01.jpg
http://timaverybirding.com/photos/sept07/nswo_02.jpg
http://timaverybirding.com/photos/sept07/nswo_03.jpg

I took one shot, before going back to my car to get my flash and grab my dad to
see something he hadn't seen before.  Shortly thereafter I snagged a Ruffed
Grouse for the year, and had a run in with one more flock of birds, but no owl
was located in the subsequent search.

Cheers

Tim
Salt Lake City, UT
tanager at timaverybirding.com
http://www.timaverybirding.com
http://www.timavery.com