Gray Morph Screech Owl at Buck Creek State Park

    For the 6th year in a row, we've seen a Gray Morph Screech Owl in the same hollowed tree at Buck Creek State Park. We drive through the park about every other day, and always check the tree out. We're usually disappointed by not seeing it, but yesterday afternoon it was there!
    It's possible that the owl is there more often but just not visible; as the hollowed section appears to drop deeper into the tree. We've never approached the tree to look inside, as we don't want to chance disturbing it. 
  I'm posting images from yesterday and the previous 5 years. Not sure if it is the same bird each year, or just coincidence that different Gray Morphs use the same eye-level hollow every year. 

    Gray Morph Screech Owl shot with Olympus EM1 Mark III and Olympus 100-400mm at             400mm.
 

    Gray Morph Screech Owl shot with Olympus EM1 Mark III and Olympus 300mm.

    Gray Morph Screech Owl shot with Olympus EM1 Mark III and Olympus 300mm.

        Gray Morph Screech Owl shot with Olympus EM5 Mark III and Olympus 300mm.

                Gray Morph Screech Owl shot with Fuji XT-2 and Fuji 100-400mm. 
                This image was shot just after sunset and was taken using high iso.

                Gray Morph Screech Owl shot with Canon 7D M2 and Canon 500 F4. 

Merlin at Old Reid Park

 Such an awesome encounter at Old Reid today with this Merlin. Likely an immature bird or a female. From All About Birds..."Merlins are small, fierce falcons that use surprise attacks to bring down small songbirds and shorebirds. They are powerful fliers, but you can tell them from larger falcons by their rapid wingbeats and overall dark tones. Medieval falconers called them “lady hawks,” and noblewomen used them to hunt Sky Larks."

This Merlin perched nicely for the better part of an hour...it looked upward and focused its attention on the sky when a Northern Harrier flew over (Pic #3), and again when a flock of Sandhill Cranes flew low overhead (Pic #4). It finally flew, but landed nearby on a rock and posed for more pics.

@NTPRD

Mars and Moon Conjuncture

 This morning just before sunrise, Mars was easily visible in alignment with the crescent Moon. 

And the full image including Venus......

Moonbow and Orion

 A moonbow last night about midnight....likely due to moonlight reflecting through ice crystals very high in the night sky.

The clear, cold winter sky gave a good look at the Orion Constellation...and especially the three aligned stars that make up Orion's Belt.

Three pics....as seen, with labels on stars, and superimposed with the Orion Constellation on the third image to show the the Hunter.

Belted Kingfisher Diving

 I watched this female Belted Kingfisher at CJ Brown today. 

CJ Brown Snowy Owl

Another visitor from the far north! Snowy Owl at CJ Brown today.

The owl was found by Clark County birder Dan Kemp.

I was contacted by a park ranger and was there about an hour after Dan found it. It had flown from the original location, but we were able to re-locate it.

Old Reid Ducks

We've done a few mornings drives through Old Reid the last weeks. Here's some of the ducks and shorebirds we've seen.

Madison County Snowy Owl

 After seeing social media posts over the last week of a Snowy Owl in Madison County, we decided to join the Snowy Owl club and make the short drive to see it. As predicted, the owl was perched in the Moen Parking lot on rt 40 in Madison County....the same location where it had been for several days. 
Many observers and photographers were present, so we parked and walked toward the crowd. Within 10 minutes of our arrival, the owl flew off, and we were able to catch a couple of nice flight shots.
We stayed around for about 30 minutes, then headed home. I've since seen that the owl is back at the same location. 

Fall Deer...

 We enjoy taking a ride through Buck Creek State Park this time of year....
Beautiful leaves and amazing looks at the Whitetail Deer population. 
Some of our recent looks....

Our Travels as Seen from the Navigator Seat....

 Well, I shot over 5000 images on our 5,000 mile trip. We traveled from Ohio to Canyonland in Utah, then on to visit our son & family in Southern California. From there, we went southeast through Arizona,  New Mexico and Texas. David drove every single mile. I offered to drive, but he assured me he was quite happy with me being navigator/photographer. 
Just for fun, here are some of the shots I took through the drivers side window. 

Milky Way at Arches National Park and White Sands National Park

Just returned from  a 5,000 mile trip in our RV out west. More later, but here's a couple of  Milky Way shots.

Milky Way at Arches National Park

Milky Way at White Sands National Park

Fox Kits at Magee Marsh

The stars of the show at Magee this year were not birds!
Instead, these adorable Fox Kits stole all of the attention.  Their den was located on the Estuary Trail and visitors ooohhhed and ahhhed over the babies.
Who could not stop to take a look?