Mathew Pokoik - news

©Mathew Pokoik

Yesterday I had a lucky sighting of a Barred Owl sitting in a birch tree over-looking the pond and garden. It allowed me to get within 10 ft to record it for posterity (I moved very slowly). The owl sat in this tree for most of the day, flying off some time around dusk. This is the second Barred owl I’ve seen recently. The other one was much larger, it was sitting in another Birch tree, this time in the upper field. I walked under it and didn’t see it till I walked onwards - turned around and looked at the view behind me - so well did it blend in with the bark of the tree in this snowy white landscape. It was hunting in the middle of the day. It was quite amazing to watch. Every 30 seconds or so its head would swivel around 180 degrees, with no lower body movement at all. Then instantly it would again swivel right-side-front, scanning the field for mice in a 360 degree angle of sight.