The Great Grey...

We had a new visitor at the house yesterday. He stands about two feet tall and a good four feet or more wide when he’s in the air. I knew there were Great Grey Owls on the island but this is the first time I’ve ever seen one. When I first spotted him he was gliding past, completely silent and following a smaller bird into the thicker woods. I’m not sure if he caught him or not but about a half hour later he was perched in a tree down by the road tossing something down.

From there he moved to a poplar tree about twenty feet from the house and that’s where he spent the night… or at least he was still in the same position the next morning. Maybe he can help me with my Blue Jay problem but he seemed content just to perch there watching (drooling?) over the crowd of Goldfinches, Chickadees and other birds that came and went from our feeder.

He’s gone now but it certainly was something special to see such a large and majestic creature close up. I hope comes back later and if he becomes a regular I'll let you know and you can stop by for coffee and check him out.

Thanks to shanta and lizjones112 for the photos as the combination of faint light and an out of date camera prevented me from getting anything but blurs myself.

February 4th Note: He came back the next day again and spent an hour or so sitting on top of the hydro pole.