definitely a Hairy, both from the beak and the lack of barring on the white tail feathers.

agreed! A local park near me has a few breeding pairs every year, so there were plenty of opportunities to watch fledglings figure things out, which was tons of fun.

Gorgeous pic!! They're such incredible birds.

Is that a dragonfly? it looks a lot more like a cicada.

thank you! this was my first chance to get out nice and early; normally I work very late, so getting up at 5 AM isn't really an option.

To be honest, I doubt I will ever get this close to another owl for the rest of my life, and they're the ones who came this close!

I don't have a particularly long camera lens for birding, but they still managed to fill the frame. frankly it was a magical experience

the dichotomy of guys

I have to imagine it's *much* worse outside the northeast. I really don't envy the western US for that!

Fantastic shot! I just saw my first last week at my usual haunt. Love the croaking sound they make!

That would be lovely!