Here on Salt Spring Island, I’ve had the good fortune to photograph Barred Owl families in one of their favourite nesting grounds, Duck Creek Park, just north of our home. I’ve also spotted my neighbourhood Barred Owl friends down the road, on their high and low perches. And now and then, youngsters, with their strange hissing sounds, have made an appearance outside our back door.
However, this June I had one of the most exciting surprises I've had since I began photographing wildlife—my first sighting of a magnificent Great Horned Owl. His gaze, with those clear, yellow irises really struck me as being so human-like as he stared right at me from his high perch in our backyard!
Interestingly enough, last year, my kind brother, Michael, gifted me with a beautiful pendant of a Great Horned Owl created by our good friend, Rachel which I wear as a talisman (especially for teaching). So seeing this owl so close to our home was extraordinary and, I believe, a sign of good things to come!
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