The friend behind the picture of the Great Gray Owl

[BlkWhiteFilmPix]

My friend Rob, who drove five hours through a snowstorm so I could photograph a Great Gray Owl, would have been 65 years old today.

Thankful for the memories of our road trip (https://www.bobsoltys.net/musings/robandtheowl) and that I have some photos of Rob.

[Chrissy]

The few real live owls I've ever managed to see have all been either captive bred or sadly hit and killed by cars on roads. The Great Grey Owl isn't native to the UK but I have been to a bird sanctuary and had one fly and land on my arm. Really heavy compared with the Tawnys and Barns that were there. All of them are beautiful creatures though. :) Thank you for the pictures Bob. :)

[BlkWhiteFilmPix]

YW Chrissy.

How lucky you were to have one land on your arm.

The Great Gray is larger than the ubiquitous Great Horned Owl.

Sad that so many owls are struck by cars while they hunt for prey illuminated by car headlights.

If you want to see a live owl, look for Red-Tailed or similar hawks during the day. That's "the day shift." A Great Horned owl works the night shift in that area.

https://www.bobsoltys.net/nature

[Chrissy]

I hear at least one Tawny in the evenings when I'm out watching the hedgehog come out of his box and stroll along the lawn to his specially made feeding box.

[Prettypenguin]

Owls are rad. I had a little screech owl that used to hang out on the fence and power lines when I lived in Miami. Small but mighty, kept the critters from overrunning the yard.