We had an unusual visitor to our backyard this morning. I noticed something odd in the old crab apple tree shortly after I got up. Just yesterday my Mom gave me two sets of my Dad’s binoculars. I took out a pair and saw this guy ten feet up in the tree. I did a bit of Google searching and the best match I can come up with is a Boreal Owl. Although some of the pictures make him look rather large, he was only nine or ten inches tall. I tried my best to get him to open his eyes all the way, but to no avail. He finally got tired of me taking pictures and saying “Hoo, hoo” to him and he flew off.
There were several chickadees around too. I couldn’t help but take a picture of one of them.
The surprise visit was a great way to start our Sunday morning.
M. Sullivan Photography 
Amazing photos! I have Lesser Goldfinches in my backyard right now: http://farawaypeachgarden.wordpress.com/2013/02/25/house-finches-and-goldfinches/. 🙂
LikeLike
Thank you! I hope your husband is right about the goldfinches. It would be a shame to lose any of those beautiful blossoms to the birds. Great pictures!
LikeLike
Thanks! I have owls in our neighborhood but they are too stealthy for me to see in person, let alone capture on films… May I ask what kind of lens you used to create these photos? Your owl is just too cute!:-)
LikeLike
I live in the city so it was a strange sight to see this owl in my backyard. I have a Canon camera and used a 700-200mm f/4 lens for the photos. I just purchased the lens last fall. I would have loved to buy the f/2.8 with image stabilization, but it is more than 3x the cost. 🙂
LikeLike