Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:25-33
Last spring I had the privilege of hiking the mountains with another wildlife biologist. He is big into birds, and knows a lot more about them than I. We were eating our lunch while watching a good-sized herd of elk when this owl flew into a tree off to our right.
It was far enough away to appear as just a dark spot in the tree, but my friend knew right away what it was. I took the picture and used the zoom on my camera to bring it into view.
Northern Pygmy Owls differ from other owls in that they do most of their hunting in the daytime. Therefore they rely more on sight than sound, so their ears are placed a bit differently on their heads than others of their kind. The entire owl is about 6-7 inches long, and weighs in at just over 2 ounces (65g – about robin size). Their main food is other small birds. They also eat insects like beetles and crickets, along with lizards such as skinks.
Another difference from other owls is that the Northern Pygmy Owl seldom if ever uses man-made nest boxes. They instead use hollowed-out cavities which are made in trees by woodpeckers or tree-rot. They are therefore dependent on old standing dead trees, and can be negatively impacted by logging practices which remove these trees. Their flight is a rising/falling pattern of rapid wing beats followed by closed-wing glides. Woodpeckers use a similar flight pattern.
Their call is a high-pitched, hollow-sounding toot which often repeats. Reminds me of a kid tooting on a hollow wooden train whistle. I’ve heard them often on early morning hikes in the mountains, but until now didn’t know what bird was making the call. They also have face-like coloration on the backs of their heads which is thought to confuse and protect them from predators.
I’m grateful God made so many different things to learn about in His creation. This particular owl sat for quite some time watching us as we observed it and the elk herd. Perhaps it had never seen humans before. But at least now I know better what to look and listen for the next time I’m in the woods.
Hope you have a great day.