Great Horned Owl
Yesterday I went for a hike and I am glad I didn’t take my camera. I was walking up Goodman Canyon, which is narrower than most of the canyons in South Mtn. I was looking for petroglyphs so I was not going straight up the wash like I normally do but skirting the wash about 15 feet above the wash. I came across and a Great Horned Owl. When I noticed him he was only about 10 feet away watching me. What was different was that not just that he was 10 feet away but we were at the same height because I was about 15 feet above the wash and he was sitting in the limbs of a tree in the wash. When I noticed him I was surprised he had not yet flown away.

I wasn’t worried, a little spooked perhaps. Unlike most animals, I don’t think Great Horned Owls are scarred of humans which makes them safer. It’s the animals that are scarred of us that you have to worry about. I said in a deep confident voice to him, “I am just passing through” and circled him. Careful to move slow and steady and remain visible. I watched him watching me as I passed. His head slowly turning with my entire 3/4th circle around him.

I was surprised he never flew away. I think I know this owl. For the last two years there are two owls that have been living in some of the South Mountain canyons near my house. Two years ago I would see them on a regular basis in the 32nd Street canyon. 32nd street canyon would be a better hunting canyon than Goodman canyon. They would often be perched on a ledge high above the canyon and watch me from far away as I hiked. I have only noticed them in summer. This would be out of character for Great Horned owls. Most stay in one place all year, but some migrate North in summer and South in winter. So I think having seen them only in summer that they are different than most owls. This would be the logical reason I think I have seen this owl before, but more I just sensed it. I also think he did not fly away even though I was so close because he recognized me.