Northern Saw-whet Owl!

Finally, with a bit of a break in the weather, today promised to be a good day…I just didn’t know then how good it would be!

we set off and first of all, before we even got to this point, noticed the bushes were absolutely alive with birds – I think everyone was as happy as we were to not be getting snowed or rained on!  There were a number of ducks in this area…

including quite a few Green-wing Teal…and since they didn’t immediately fly – I took their picture.

and also a Great Blue Heron – this one an adult, you can tell by the feather fringe – the heron that has been around the most, recently is one of last years young.

and because the Picasa program that I use for editing my pictures has upgraded itself with a whole bunch of nifty options and because it gets boring taking (and no doubt looking at) the same pictures day after day…I’m going to start throwing in some variations…like this one.

continuing on, the whole length of the trail was busy with all sorts of little birds, including lots of Black-capped Chickadees

at the log bay there was a pair of Canada Geese (another of those photo options)

and American Robins…some, like this guy down on the foreshore..

and others up in the bushes.

not many Red-wing Blackbirds around today but this guy was making the weirdest calls!

House Finch were singing (this one a female)

started heading back and all of a sudden I could hear Steller’s Jay’s mobbing….they were coming from every direction!

and when Steller’s Jay’s mob, that means there is a little owl around and sure enough – there is the owl.  I had thought at first it would be a Northern Pygmy Owl

but no! the little guy was a Northern Saw-whet Owl!!!  The first one I have ever seen here, although I have heard that other people have seen them.  This picture shows the size in comparison to a Steller’s Jay.

here the poor little guy has his beak open trying to defend himself against the screaming hoard of 30 or 40 jays…

and here is a great picture of the little guy before the jays drove him off. 

This makes 178 recorded species for the area.