"IN PLAIN VIEW"

Great Horned Owl - 7 Photos

All owls have amazing camouflage and the Great Horned Owl is no exception.

This owl was perched in a tree on a branch not more than 25 feet from the ground and the tree itself right next to a paved path. Albeit surrounded by branches from the rear side of the owl, the owl's profile was clear from the opposite side. 

Now the human traffic along the path was not heavy but of those who passed by, perhaps less than 1% actually spotted the owl. 

I took two sets of photos, one set in the morning & one in the afternoon and quickly left for more isolated locations in both instances for other wildlife viewing, avoiding any people interactions. I checked back closer to sunset and the owl had left for other destinations.

Perhaps, it was a case of not being able to clearly see from the back side, unless you knew what to look for and from the front side, the owl was hidden because of a slight bend and once you rounded that bend, one was too close to see the owl directly above.

So one magnificent Great Horned Owl hidden in plain view.

PHOTO #1

PHOTO #2

PHOTO #3

PHOTO #4

PHOTO #5

PHOTO #6

PHOTO #7