I was standing at the corner of the main meadow just above the barn. Up to that point, the day had been quiet. So I was happy to see a nice flock of juncos foraging around a favorite poison oak bush of theirs. Mixed in were some ruby-crowned kinglets, and some chickadees and white-breasted nuthatches were rambling through the oak trees nearby. I was trying to take a photo of a ruby-crowned kinglet when suddenly the juncos erupted into strong alarm calls as they retreated to the poison oak bush. The chickadees and nuthatches were incessantly alarming as well. There is a predator around! I watched for about 10 or 15 minutes but didn’t see anything moving. I cut through the edge of the meadow down to the barn and walked down the main path to check in with the nuthatches. That is when I noticed a small bird silhouetted against the pale, winter sky—the Northern Pygmy Owl.
Peterson states that this small owl at 6.75-7 inches tall. For comparison, the American Robin is listed as 10 inches. This owl may be small in stature, but it is a fast, adept hunter.
It perched facing out in the meadow and was scanning in all directions. Suddenly it swooped down across the meadow and landed on a lower branch of another oak tree about 20 yards away. I walked down to hopefully get a better look at it, and I saw that it had caught a small songbird. I couldn’t believe it! I watched it as it flew, and I still missed it catching what appeared to be a junco.
I was able to capture a couple of photos before it flew away. In the second photo, a notable field mark of “eyes” on the back of the head are visible.
As I was watching it from its first perch, I saw it cough up a pellet. I went back after it flew off and luckily found it on the ground.
I was grateful to have a glimpse at this amazing bird, a great bird to start off the year. Have a Happy New Year. I hope that you have a great year of birdwatching. See you out there.
