Barred Owl

Our youngest cat, Macey, was particularly interested in something out the second floor back window the other day. I looked out, expecting to see the Cooper's Hawk, but instead saw this big fellow sitting on a limb above the bird feeder.


Turns out, he's a barred owl. According to Wikipedia, he's the only owl with brown eyes - all others have yellow eyes. I thought owls eat only mice, but turns out they eat a lot of things, from pigeons to squirrels. This might explain the recent drop in our squirrel population.

This owl sat on the limb for about an hour then disappeared back into the woods. He's a beautiful creature. I hope we see him again.