Great Horned Owl
Bubo virginianus

In the winter of 2004-2005, perhaps better known as "The Year of the Owl", I got word of a very easily seen Great Horned Owl in New York City's Prospect Park. Ellen Walton and I took a walk one afternoon to check it out, and the bird was rather easily found; a few photographers had set up camp not far from the owl. I'm always a bit leery about lingering near a roosting owl for too long, so I only paused to capture a bit of backlit video before moving on.  


A handsome Great Horned Owl graciously posing in Prospect Park.

Later that winter, I received a e-mail from New York birder Tom Fiore informing me that he had spotted a Great Horned Owl in my local Inwood Hill Park, in upper Manhattan. I immediately went for a walk, moving slowly, as Tom had cautioned me that the bird was rather easily spooked from its roosting tree near a path. I managed to walk right past the bird without seeing it before it flushed, and was treated to the magnificent sight of it soaring among the high trees of the park. I observed this Great Horned Owl for almost a month, as it habitually began hunting in the late afternoon hours, and, with some patience, managed to get close enough to capture the somewhat grainy image below.  


A majestic Great Horned Owl in Inwood Hill Park.

Elsewhere on this site:
Birds of Inwood Hill Park.

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