Great Horned Owl

Another sunny, but cool day. On arriving to help out at Reifel the lot was full and it looked like the Sunday crowds were back to normal. While still fairly quiet on the birding front, there were a couple of attractions for the visitors this afternoon.

First up along the east dyke trail were the Great Horned Owls. The local pair were both roosting together in the same tree. Unfortunately there was no way to get them both in the shot. Further along was a Northern Saw-whet Owl. I did not take any photos as it was obstructed by branches, but everyone loves to see the owls and they were the highlight of the day.

Still on the cold side, the ponds still had some thin ice and were fairly empty except for the few thawed portions.

Phalarope & Owl

Another beautiful summer afternoon to be out volunteering a Reifel. It was a decent crowd for this time of year with a couple of pleasant surprises. First up in the outer ponds,

… were three Wilson’s Phalaropes. They appeared to be juvenile birds,

… and this would be on the early side to see them arriving. Of course some of the usual suspects were around.

Like this Great Blue Heron roosting in a conifer. The other surprise came at the end of the day.

A juvenile Great Horned Owl snoozing away the afternoon. This was one of two, likely from the local pair that nested in the Alaksen National Wildlife area.

Great Horned Owl

The rain eventually eased off later this afternoon and I snuck out to the North 40 again. I wanted to have another look for the Western Tanagers I saw there a couple of days ago. I struck out on the Tanagers, but I did see one of the Lazuli Bunting. Only shot of the day,

… was the Great Horned Owl. It was roosting in a nice spot today. Bonus sighting of the day was a couple of Bullock’s Oriole.