Owling in Ravenna

Cute Barred Owl in Ravenna! My friend with me saw a large pair of wings flash by in the shadowy canopy of Ravenna park. It was evening, perhaps 5 or 6 pm on a weekday night. We were out looking at nature, trees, shrubs, fungi; but our main goal was to find owls. Owls are the highlight of Ravenna Park in Seattle! In the whole big bustling city is a secret paradise for owls. This was the second time I had seen a Barred Owl in Ravenna, but not a day later I saw another! It was magical; to stumble across owls in a city park two days in a row.

Owl looking down at me

This owl was seen fairly low in the tree. No more than 20, 30 tops, feet off the ground. I'm not a good judge of distance though. After looking for him, when we finally saw him we were shocked. How could we not see such a big shadow sitting on a tree branch staring at us? I love how he's looking directly at me in this picture.

I also saw him rotating his head, looking around. He was super on the patrol, guarding his territory. I heard that owls have to guard large amounts of territory. It was really cool to see his head rotating practically 360 degrees.

Whatchya looking at Mr. Barred Owl? Listening to the crows flying home to roost for the night? D'aww.