A magnificent surprise: a great horned owl

As we headed up the trail this morning at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm, my friends Jim and Andy and I had no clue of the wonderful surprise awaiting us in the woods.

We were hoping we’d see a few of the warblers that have been trickling into the park this week. The weather was cool and breezy, which was likely responsible for the relatively few birds we saw in the fields as we walked up from the parking lot,

As we entered the woods, we spotted a blue-gray gnatcher and heard a couple of towhees. A little farther ahead, we heard an ovenbird (my first for the year), a couple of Eastern towhees and some white-throated sparrows. A Northern flicker called from far off.

Jim wandered ahead of Andy and me, then suddenly turned around and blurted out excitedly: “Holy sh**! It’s a great-horned owl!”

Yes, it was. Nestled into a thick branch jutting out from a large tree, the owl was not obvious at first but plain to see once my eyes locked onto it, The owl was probably at least 50 yards away, and we were in no danger of spooking it, even after we pointed our cameras at it.

We admired the bird and our good fortune for five minutes or so, then moved on in search of common yellowthroats and whatever else we might find. We circled back to the owl and took a few more shots before wishing it well and turning toward our cars.

While I had heard great horned owls a few times at home, I had never seen one until today. I’m grateful to the birding gods for giving me such a privilege.