Just as I was posting the diary last Sunday, the pre-dawn stillness was broken by a Western Screech Owl calling - very nearby. Honestly, it couldn't have been more than 20 feet away, but I couldn't quite narrow down the location and it was nowhere to be seen when we finally had some light. (Did find some intriguing cavities though...) That's how it goes with owls - much more often seen than heard, between the nocturnal habits and the dense cover they seek out by day.
There's one owl that makes it easier on us, though. It likes to sit on the ground, in wide open spaces... in the daytime no less! Even so, they're ever harder to see because we keep encroaching on their habitat.
continued at Daily Kos....
