First off, thanks to all who served in the Armed Forces and to those that supported them. We wouldn’t be here without you!
I recently did a quick trip to visit my dad in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. The Newell Audubon Center is right around the corner from his place so I often stop in there for a little birding. This visit was rather uneventful – until I noticed a number of small birds gathering in one area. Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-eyed Vireo, and Brown-headed Nuthatch all were flying in and out of the same tree. As I followed a Carolina Chickadee with my binoculars I noticed a football-sized brown object in that tree. The smaller birds were mobbing an Eastern Screech Owl that was perched there! This particular Screech Owl was a Red-morph and had a beautiful bright rusty color to it. The Owl didn’t pay much attention to the birds, although it shifted a bit on the branch – but it didn’t move in the 45 minutes I was in the area. Here are a couple of pictures of the encounter. First is the Carolina Chickadee I was tracking, then a Brown-headed Nuthatch came in and landed on the same same branch the owl was leaned against! A couple more pics of the owl itself. I very neat encounter!
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Pretty cool pic of the elusive owl!