We have an owl that nests close to the house.
I see her at dusk. If you sit at the picnic table she’ll swoop down. It’s a warning to stay away from her tree. I hope. I think she hunts around the pond. It’s ripe with frogs.
We think it’s an Eastern Screech owl.
Thank you, as always, for your wisdom. Quick question - because I just realized I don’t know this - crepuscular I get, but do owls also hunt by moonlight? And by extension, streetlight? We’re on a lit street, and our owls were making a racket six or seven hours after dusk and (though I didn’t check) I guess there was no moonlight to speak of last night, new moon and cloudy and all.
j
Whiter barn owls weaponize moonlight 
.
At least certain birds can adapt in surprisingly flexible ways sometimes. Years ago I mentioned elsewhere on these boards that I had discovered working nights and evenings that normally diurnal Black Phoebes will stay up and hunt until late in the evening in well-lit truck bays. Perching on bollards to sally up and pick off insects attracted to the bright sodium-vapor lamps.
My gf hears them hooting (she’s only seen one). My hearing sucks, so I don’t hear them.
Every once in awhile we get lucky and see a barred owl here. We hear them more often than see them. My husband took a picture of one in a tree in our backyard during daylight a few years ago. Mostly I’ve seen them very early in the morning.
What I saw in nature today was a turkey vulture checking out a dead opossum on the side of the road while I was on my walk. Yum.
I’m hoping to see some American white pelicans in a couple of days - they are reported to be hanging around near a dam about an hour and a half west of where I live. This would be the first time I’ve seen a truly wild pelican inland if I get lucky (the Great White pelicans at St. James’s Park don’t count since they’re really just glorified pets).
And we saw 'em!
Cool!
Yeah, nice action shot!
Yeah - I’d be getting that one framed!
j
Thanks for the compliments. I love pelicans and will take a chance to take pictures of them whenever I can. The brown pelicans are the most challenging - they blend in very well with their environments. I love watching them fish and fly together.
I’m Batman!
Yesterday, the birds were quite active at Wheaton Regional Park, just north of Washington DC. Here’s a downy woodpecker enjoying the feeders and ignoring me:
Also saw a tufted titmouse and heard some red-winged blackbirds.
I spent many pleasant days there as a kid, fishing for Bluegills with my best friend.
As I was driving home Monday afternoon, 12 or 13 of this elk herd came across the road in front of me, the whole group ended up in my pasture, about 25 head or so, including 3 branch bulls. Had I put in for my elk tag for my area, could have taken one in my pasture, driven out with the tractor, and hauled it back up to the barn.
On the way to work this morning, they were in the old filbert orchard about 2 miles down from my house. Sorry for poor picture quality, cell phone camera + low light make it difficult to get a good shot.
Neato. Not something I see every day! Or ever, you know.
Back in late September/early October I was surprised by them one early morning when I took the house dog out for his potty run - the boss bull bugling like crazy, the two younger bulls sparring and getting all the cows wound up. Just 140 yards from my shooting bench. Was quite the show they put on, for sure.
I was very surprised to find out there are elk in western North Carolina. Maybe someday I will get lucky and actually see one.
There is a small elk herd in north western Pennsylvania (Elk county). I spent a weekend at a rental home there with a group of friends. Amazing animals. My buddy Gil nearly got killed when he tried getting close to a calf for a photo opportunity.
I’ve seen similar a couple of times over the years with the tule elk in Pt. Reyes, only with someone trying to angle closer to a bugling male in full rut. It’s a life lesson most won’t soon forget, but it is most certainly not one worth experiencing.
The Elk herd in north Yellowstone is so used to being around humans that they actually sit right outside of the visitor area. There are not enough park rangers to remind people to keep away from them all. I walked out of the gift shop and there was a huge bull just chilling out near the door. Scary but cool at the same time.