Great Horned Owl

This page is for the Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus). I have always been excited the few times I have seen a Great Horned Owl in nature. The one I used to see as a kid in Oklahoma was near the local elementary school. As a young teen, I would ride my bicycle all over the place, and I would go here at night at times. Occasionally, the owl would fly around a bit and once in a while, it would dive toward us to scare us away. We just thought it was cool. Now I know that I was too close and needed to give it space. This siting was the first I have seen in the wild in probably close to 40 years. After photographing the Barred Owl, I was walking along the trail, headed into the sun. I noticed a shadow to my right and when I traced it back to its source, I saw the Great Horned Owl sitting on a nearby branch, watching me. When I raised my camera, it took off for deeper cover before I could get a shot. As you can see above, he landed and turned his head almost 180 degrees to watch me some more. I got a few shots in before he flew again out of camera range. It was for me a magical moment seeing one in the woods. The best photograph I have taken of the Great Horned Owl to date (above) was from March 13, 2022 in the trees near the Forked Tail Creek trail (what I call Owl Woods) at the Fort Worth Nature Preserve, Fort Worth, TX.