Great Horned Owl

About this photograph

Everyone should love owls. In fact, it’s weird that some people don’t. Their soft, eerie hooting and trills have kept me awake more than once, but I don’t mind.

One especially vocal evening, I walked through my neighborhood searching for the source of those calls. I was ecstatic to find two owls calling to each other as they flew from rooftop to rooftop. I brought my children outside, and they thought it was just as cool as I did.

When a passerby came down the sidewalk, I waved him over and pointed out the two magnificent birds. He looked at the owls, then looked back at me with an expression of confused indifference, and continued on his way.

I still don’t understand it. There were two owls right there. Everyone should love owls. In fact, it’s weird that some people don’t.

For those of us who would have stopped to watch, this portrait brings a little of that fascination indoors. Bright yellow eyes and intricately patterned feathers give this great horned owl a presence that’s hard to ignore. Its close-up portrait captures the alert expression and distinctive feather tufts that make these birds so recognizable.