Screech Owl

Jack and I decided to enjoy this beautiful August day at the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center in Mystic. They've got exhibits highlighting the habitats and wildlife of southeastern Connecticut, as well as eight miles of trails that wind through a beautiful 300-acre wooded preserve.

We spent most of the time on the trails, seeing how many different things we could spot. We found butterflies, dragonflies, chipmunks, squirrels, frogs, turtles, bees and a gorgeous meadow full of wildflowers!

This is the same spot that I found the barred owl (in the wild!!!) up in the trees on one of the trails.

This little guy, a screech owl, is one of the raptors found in the outdoor flight enclosures along with a barred owl, great horned owls, a peregrine falcon, a saw whet owl and some red tailed hawks. When I took this shot, they were all being served their lunch of little white mice! It was tough getting a clear shot, because I was shooting through a wire fence with tiny openings, which is why there are some blurry spots!!

No sightings of the barred owl in the wild today, although we did try to spot him again!!