Hiding Pygmy Owl

by Judi Dressler

Title

Hiding Pygmy Owl

Artist

Judi Dressler

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Pygmy Owls are tiny, not much bigger than a sparrow in height (although quite a bit rounder), so they can be hard to spot. I knew the area where this little owl was hanging out on a back road, but even so I couldn't find her, and looked for over two hours with no luck. Suddenly, there she was, hiding in a pine tree! And with prey, no less. If you look closely, you can see part of a vole in her talon.

The Northern Pygmy-Owl may be tiny, but it’s a ferocious hunter with a taste for songbirds, and catches more birds than most small owls. In western forests, this little owl is often active by day. It may fly fast and low from one tree to the next and then swoop up to take a high perch. These owls are mostly dark brown and white, with long tails, smoothly rounded heads, and piercing yellow eyes. They hunt by sitting quietly and surprising their prey. As a defensive measure, little gangs of chickadees and other songbirds often gather to 'mob' a pygmy-owl discovered in daylight, Mobbing songbirds can help you find these unobtrusive owls, as can listening for their call, a high-pitched series of toots.

Photo taken on March 15, 2022, near Lyons, Colorado.

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Descriptive tags and keywords for this image include pygmy owls, owls, pygmy-owls, northern pygmy-owls, tiny, small, pine trees, evergreen trees, birds of prey, birds, raptors, predators, hunters, diurnal, glaucidium gnoma, strigiformes, strigidae, with prey, prey, colorado, wildlife, wild,nature, dressler and judi dressler.

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March 20th, 2022

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