I’ve avoided photographing a specific Northern Saw-when Owl for over a month because I’ve felt I had to be too close to the owl to photograph it without disturbing it.  On Wednesday, during a brief but at times intense snow squall, the bird was on a new branch and could be photographed from a safe distance.  The owl was wide awake after being bounced around rather intensely by high winds.  The tree was pushed eight feet by the winds at one point.

Tonight, as the temperature quickly dropped below freezing the Great Horned Owl held on in very high winds.  What a way to wake up!  It coughed up two pellets one after another. Otherwise it was tough night for owl watching, with the owl quickly going out of view at fly out.

Just when Owl mania seemed to be over, three species of owls were reported in Central Park today, Great Horned, Northern Saw-whet and Barred.  Only the Barred Owl was easy to photograph from a distance, so I choose to watch it.  It was calm, except when two Red-tailed Hawks and a group of Blue Jays were nearby.

Tonight was a standard fly out for Central Park’s Great Horned Owl.  It was quiet, went to three nearby trees and then was off into the dark. 

Tonight, a very respectful small group of owl watchers got to watch the Great Horned Owl cough up a pellet, stretch, fly out, and then perch in an open tree near its roost.  The normally quiet owl made a number of calls, which I learned from an other owl watcher, that it had done the night before.  There was a response from what we thought was a person making an owl call, but then we heard a more realistic call coming from the northwest.  I think we decided that it could have been wishful thinking, but it would be great if there was another owl in the park. 

The owl then flew to a different tree, and then made a wonderful dive and ended up on a low branch within the compound of the Delacorte Theater before flying up to the scaffolding over the northern gazebo being repaired at Belvedere Castle.  It then flew to a pine west of the Castle before finally flying southeast and out of view.  It was a great night of owl watching.

Tonight, I think I had the Great Horned Owl all to myself.  Tough angles to watch it, cold weather and a Monday all worked in my favor.  The winds died down before fly out.  So, the owl woke up slowly, stretched and then flew to a nearby tree.  When it flew again after a few minutes, I quickly lost it in the dark.

It was so nice to see the owl have almost no disturbances from other birds, high winds or people tonight.  (I was safely tucked far away and a fence acted as a natural blind.)