Hanging with the Hooters

Here's how it went down.

I arrived at the metro-park just after sunrise, and had the place all to myself. I started down the trail...armed only with my camera. I was ten minutes into my walk when I saw (and heard) something in the path. IT WAS A BABY OWL!!! WHAT TO DO? WHAT TO DO? I looked around to see if I could see the nest.

I had done about 180 degrees of my turn...when I heard the whoosh. MAMA OWL WAS DIVE-BOMBING ME!!! She clipped me in the scalp with her beak, then dug her talons into my right shoulder. But that wasn't enough. While my shoulder started to bleed, she whacked me in the head repeatedly with her left wing. AND I WAS JUST TRYING TO HELP!!!

How did I get the picture? Just before she struck, I lifted my camera (in vain) as a shield, and I must have snapped off a couple of shots. Pretty lucky get.

Here's the rest of the story.

This is a stuffed owl in the educational room of the nature center. But, I did have to get down on one knee to get the angle. Does that count for anything?

For once, I had enough "keepers" to have a Flickr page. AND...those pictures are of LIVE animals. Sand-hill cranes, chickadees, and 2 day old baby piglets.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/76781400@N06/albums/72157673534499262 Have a look.