Bluebird, Swallow GGO (20130511) Saturday, ever see an owl pant? Part two

Back to the truck after the morning in the blind, we had a beverage (or two) and discussed what we were going to do next. I was interested to see if we could find a Bluebird or two, and Jamie was up for the cruise. We found a house to set up on and brought out the blind.

I was very disappointed that even with Swallows around the Bluebirds just seemed to want to keep their distance.  I have come to the conclusion that the best time to get "close" is first thing in the morning. This is one of the toughest birds I know of to get a good shot of.

After another hour or two in the blind we decided to pack it in. It was getting stinking hot (27C)  and windy  so we thought we would crawl on out just to see if anything was around.  With the conditions we were not expecting to find anything out and about. As we eased out the road, we grabbed this Snowshoe rabbit. it had let us drive right by within 15 feet. We pulled up to a stop and walked down the opposite ditch, keeping an eye on him the entire time. he let us get close enough for our shots, then we backed away and left him just as we had found him.

Getting to the left right decision, Jamie made the call so we went left extending our outing for a bit. By this time we were both dog tired and our eyes probably were the best. As we headed west the wind just kept getting stronger. With nothing showing up we decided to head home, and in a spot where we have spotted wildlife before Jamie comes up with a GGO.

This was a very striking owl. He was very dark, and his feet were very light. We stayed with him for about 15 minutes or more. At times he was panting, but still sitting the sun. For a little while he closed his eyes and looked like he was going to fall out of the tree.

A very beautiful bird! I'll wrap up this post, and this day here. I have the Sunday morning walk, so I need a SNOOZE.
Turbo