Northern Pygmy Owl

I seemed odd that I'd seen and photographed a couple of Latin American pygmy owl species before I ever saw my first local specimen. Thankfully, I finally rectified the situation in January. This little fellow was coming in every few days to attack birds in a neighbor's yard just outside of Yellowstone.

I'd drive by slowly every morning and evening in hopes of spotting it, but given the diminutive size of my target that was a long shot. Finally, one evening my neighbor ran out and called to me when the owl was present. It was tucked against a tree trunk, about 20 feet off the ground opposite the road, so there's no way I would've seen it on my own. I set up beneath the tree to snap a couple shots as the wind and snow kicked up.

As it got darker, we watched the owl come in and feast on a pine grosbeak it had killed earlier in the day. Overall, it was gratifying to finally see one of these, and it was one of the highlights of my winter trip.

Canon 1DX
Canon 500mm f/4 IS
ISO 1600
1/200th
f/5.6

Max