Lakes,
Peaks
& Trails
Critters Trip Journal Wildflowers MushroomsBlog Contact

     
   
 

Common Name:Owl, Californian Great Horned
Scientific Name:Bubo virginianus pacificus
Family:Strigidae (Owls)
Area:Red Bluff Recreation Area, California
Date:February 21, 2012

From what I have read, Great Horned Owls are some of earliest-breeding birds in North America; they breed in late January or early February. They also take over other birds' nests, and in this Red Bluff Recreation Area there are a large number of Yellow-billed Magpie and Red Shoulder Hawk nests, all this taken together could account for the possibility of this being a nesting female.


Red Bluff Recreation Area, California - - - February 21, 2012 - photo by Dan Lawry

Reference:Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of America by Kaufman / The Sibley Guide to Birds by Sibley / Birds of the Willamette Valley Region by Nehls, Aversa, & Opperman