In search for the elusive Hawk Owl, I ventured to Richmond (South of Ottawa) on March 2nd. Upon reaching the trail an owl took flight not nearly 5 meters in front of me. The size and colour distinctly not of a Hawk Owl which we searched for. The large body size and mottled colouration was that of a Great Grey Owl.
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| Great Grey Owl |
A second search for the Hawk Owl brought Chris and I to a park on Eagleson Road and Robertson Road. This owl had been consistently seen here for the past few weeks. Our first search for it was unsuccessful and the wind was chilling.
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| Northern Hawk Owl |
We headed back to the car to warm up for a moment and then returned to the clearing. Mid-way up a bar tree we saw it. On our approach it flew to a tree that was even more open and with much better lighting for pictures.
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| Northern Hawk Owl |
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| Northern Hawk Owl |
After our success with the Hawk Owl we headed to the Ottawa Experimental Farm to find the recently sighted Boreal Owl. This was a very easy find since it was quite close to the parking lot and there was a lot of birder traffic at the time to point us in the right direction.
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| Boreal Owl |
The owl was sitting about 6ft high in a thick spruce tree close to the trunk. The wind blowing hard even dropped snow on its head.
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| Boreal Owl |
The bird was not very concerned with our presence and seamed to get even more comfortable while we were sitting there.
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| Boreal Owl |
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