I've been hearing owls a lot lately, around 11pm. The other night, I went outside, behind my house, to shine a flashlight in the trees, for a very slim to none chance, of spotting one. At that time I heard two owls. Then, I started calling the owls, hooting like a real bird watcher. Then I began to hear three of them. One sounded even closer. All the while, I'm standing out back, in the dark (except for the street lights), in the cold, with a flashlight, and my camera. I'm still hooting every now and then. I start to hear four owls. I turn off the flashlight and it goes back to just three. Then, I'm standing in the dark and see a bird fly into the top of one of the trees right behind the house. I hoot every two minutes or so and shine my flashlight towards the top of the tree and spot the owls reflector eyes.
Unfortunately, it was too far away to get a picture. I turned off the flashlight after a few minutes, so as not to scare him. Then, a neighbor came out to walk their dog for the last time of the night. I kept the light off and held the hooting so I wouldn't freak the guy out (especially since he couldn't see me). Meanwhile, the owls in the distance are still hooting. Just before the man goes back inside, the owl that is only feet away, flew off into the night sky. I could see his silhouette as he flew. Even though I didn't get a photo, it was one of the most awesome wildlife experience I've had yet. Just knowing, that I called the owl over, and asked him to show himself.
I did manage to get some photos of an owl back in
August.
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@L
