Great horned owl photos courtesy of Ulanawa Foote
Lake Erie Metropark, January 2012

A deep  whoo, whoo, whooooooo resonated through my woods not far from my

 swamp the night of the first full moon of January. I hoped to capture an image of

  my reclusive resident owl but had no success. But the very next morning Ulanawa Foote,

 a wonderful photographer and sometimes blogger living near Flat Rock posted pictures
of a great horned owl from her hike at Lake Erie Metropark and graciously shared them with me. 
 Her  skilled "capture" is  just perfect exposing the horizontal lines across the breast and the long tufted ears that spawned the  name  "great horned". The hoots of this fearsome night predator that hunts rabbits, skunks, voles  and  mice are not for my entertainment and primordial spirit.
Hoots define territory and great horned owls are now entering their breeding season. Before this month ends some of these winged warriors that fly on silent wings will be on their  nests making
them one of the  earliest breeders of the bird world.
(Ulanawa's blog www.turtlesaw.blogspot.com )