Boreal Owl !! or Saw-whet???

The first day of February…and it started off normal enough…

I had planned to comment on what a beautiful way to start the month…sunny and just a little bit cool with temperatures just above the freezing mark..

The Red Wing Blackbirds were over at the log bay, as were numerous ducks, Mallard, Green Wing Teal and Gadwall…..

then as I was wandering homewards…I heard a whole bunch of Steller’s Jay ‘mobbing’ in this little grove of cedar trees….knowing that meant there was probably an owl lurking in those trees I approached carefully with camera at the ready, thinking I’d finally get to see a Northern Pygmy Owl this winter….

as we got closer…you can see one of the Steller’s Jay sort of just above and to the right of the middle, and yes, there is an owl perched on a branch to the left…

there it is…but wait…that doesn’t look like a Pygmy Owl….

could it be a Northern Saw-Whet???  So snapped a few more pictures and went home – downloaded the pictures and got my faithful ‘Sibley’s’ and no…it doesn’t look like a Saw-Whet….it looks like a Boreal Owl!!!  which according to the book shouldn’t even be found here…so I decide a second look is needed.  Shut my walking companion in her kennel, grabbed the DSLR camera and headed back – not really expecting it to still be sitting there…

but it was…right smack dab in the middle of the picture (I decided to post this one so you can get an idea of the size of it…

not only is it still sitting there – it’s got lunch!

I’ve studied and studied these pictures and compared them to my field guides and I’m pretty positive it is a Boreal, even though one field guide says they are only found high in the mountains…but if I’m wrong – please let me know.  A Boreal Owl would be a ‘Lifer’ for me (means I’ve never seen one before) and either a Boreal or a Saw-whet would be another species for the Chehalis Estuary.

 

here is another look…

as I watched him the sun peeked through the branches to highlight him as he went back to sleep.

a last look as I left him in peace.  What an exciting start to the month!