Visitor

Looking out my kitchen window, I saw someone looking back at me.  A large Barred Owl.  He looked around for a while, flew to a nearby tree, and then moved off to better hunting grounds.  

 

Back again

Once again the backyard birds were shrieking.  We looked around and couldn't see anything, until a squirrel ran, chased by a silent owl.

Unfortunately the owl missed the squirrel.  He flew up into a tree, watching and waiting for his next meal.

 

Backyard visitor

 The cardinals were giving their high pitched warning call, the towhees were whooping.

And here's the reason.  This barred owl came to visit.

He flew up into a tree and looked around.  

A brave blue jay came up and tried to scare him away.

He took a short nap, not caring what the little birds were saying about him.

 

Backyard visitor

The barred owl flew silently into the backyard trees.  He posed for pictures and admiration.

He watched us carefully.  Hopefully he was looking for a small rodent dinner, and not children.  

 

Owlet

A baby barred owl was peeking out of his home.  Mom was somewhere close, but we couldn't see her.

 

Barred Owl

This handsome guy swooped up into the tree on a foggy morning.  He must have thought it was dark enough for a hunt.

The blue jays were very angry.  (you can see one of them in the upper part of the picture)  He might have been hunting blue jays.