For our first photography stop, we had planned to try a place where a Northern Saw-whet Owl had been spotted about the same time of year 20 years previously. These owls are about the size of a robin with a wingspan of about 17-20 inches (ibird).

There were some large cottonwood and cedar trees along the creek, and we knew from previous experience that there were other owls in the area. The night was clear and calm with a nearly full moon and temperatures in the low to mid 30s. After about 10 minutes, we heard a sound we thought could have been made by one of the owls. When it was repeated a few minutes later, we decided to turn on our flashlights to see if we could find it in the trees above our heads. Sure enough, there was one perched on a limb fairly close to where we were standing.