Photo by Joshua Wiley

The other week, when I was in Utah, I visited a very famous park. It was hot, really hot. This park had a gift shop, but the gift shop was just a garage bay, without air-conditioning, in one of the headquarters support buildings.

When I visited, I asked a very nice but very hot lady, who was manning the gift shop, if she knew of any good locations for Burrowing Owls, (Athene cunicularia). Unsolicited, she explained that there were actually three Great Horned Owls (Bubo virginianus) roosting during the day in a hay barn around the corner. (The hay is for feeding Bison and Pronghorn in winter.)

Very excitedly, I went and paid a brief and respectful visit to these avatars of Athena. Two of the owls were awake and active. A third was tucked against a wall and sleeping. To me, getting close to such big, beautiful owls in good light was very special. I hope, though, that they are not often disturbed by eager birders or scheming photogs.