Here at the Cabin
Tiny Hunterby Dan Hartman
Oct. 15, 2023
Cindy and I have had an incredible owl year. Boreals in late winter, long eared eary summer, great grays all summer and great horned late summer.But one fairly common owl has somehow eluded us this year. We've heard them off and on late winter and early spring, but no sightings.
Well, that all changed yesterday. We were about to head out for a late morning firewood cutting session when Cindy exclaimed, "there's a pygmy owl right in front of the cabin!".
I grabbed my camera and stepped out on the front porch. Cindy pointed him out, just twenty feet away.
There he sat, turning his head right, left, down. Obviously hunting. He flew in even closer, a scant fifteen feet away. Amazingly, he cared more about hunting than worring about our presence. After a couple of minutes, he dropped to the ground. When I located him again in the undergrowth, I realize he was pecking at a tiny mouse clutched in his left claw. Giving us a look, he flew off, carring his catch deeper into the trees.
