Taken back on Independence Day, I had spent a couple of hours waiting for this little one and its siblings to emerge from their nest at Barr Lake State Park, Colorado. I was about to give up when this one finally decided to make an appearance.
While it was the only one of the three to show its face, it put on a nice little show for myself an the other photographers nearby. I love this shot of it as it first appeared with what looks to be a huge smile at its audience. It isn’t often you will find these birds out in the open.
Like most owls, they are nocturnal and during the day they usually hang out in tree cavities, dense stands of trees and of course barns and other spots well out of sight. These medium-sized owls can be found across most of the globe, including the contiguous United States.
