I stopped by a park in mid-February to check on the owls that nest there every year. They had been sitting on eggs for a while but I wasn’t sure of the exact days. No sign of a baby yet but I found both of the parents. Mom was far down in the nest and I could just barely see the tops of her ears.  Dad was sitting close by. It was late in the day and he was just waking up from a long nap.

He took off and flew to a tree nearby and was sitting out in the open. He started hooting. I realized that they don’t hoot with their beaks open but the white part of their chest fluffs up from the vibration. It was cool to sit quietly in the woods right before dark and watch him hoot.

I realized the moon was coming up way off across the bay.  After a few minutes he took off heading towards the moon.

Mom was still hiding in that big tree as the sun went down.