Birding at Fort Churchill

I am out everyday doing my bird thing. In the evenings and during the night, I have been hearing a short repetitive raspy screech! I listened to all the local night bird calls on several birding apps but none sounded like what I was hearing so last night, I decided to hunt it down. I slowly worked my was thru the woods as the sun was setting. To my surprise, there was a Great Horned Owl sitting on a limb about 6 feet off the ground making the noise! I slowly backed away and left it to its screeching! None of my birding apps has that call for a Great Horned Owl so I may head out again tonight and record it. I did have a great bird hike this morning. I identified 38 species and got some great pics! A couple of my favorites are this Great Egret in mid step with its refection below.

Another is this Mourning Dove sitting on a barb wire fence with a cow, slightly out of focus, behind it!

While glassing over a small flock of White-crowned Sparrows, I spotted this female Lazuli Bunting!

As you can see, like many female birds, she is drab in color!  This is great camouflage that protects her and her young from predators when she is sitting on a nest! To see more pics and a complete list of today's birds, click here: Fort Churchill ebird list