Owl Spotting II

Thanks, AlanDP, for the suggestion. A barred owl fits my sighting much more than a great horned owl, especially the white face and the more "slanted" black eyes.

Owl Spotting

Sunday morning while I was waiting for my ride to work I saw a pale head with dark eyes poking up over the rim of the hill. For just a split second I thought, "That looks a lot like an alien." Then it turned and dipped its tawny head to the ground, and I saw that it was an owl--a large owl. By its size I think it must have been a great horned owl, and not the smaller screech owl. After it pecked at the ground a few more times (probably at its morning meal) it flew up to a branch and sat so motionless for about twenty minutes that if I didn't know it was there and saw its head move occassionally I probably wouldn't have seen it. I'm always surprised we have so much wildlife around here, and we're almost in the center of town.