A great day for a long drive to see a twice reported great gray owl, first in Halliburton and then again today on the outskirts in Gooderham. I arrived close to 3pm on Glamorgan Road near Purcell (a dead end road / cul-de-sac). I saw a photographer walking down the hill. He mentioned that the owl had just flown into the woods. I asked if it was a skittish bird and he said yes. We both agree this was not usual behaviour for a great gray owl. He drove off back to Haliburton where he lives while I decided to stick around. Afterall, it was a 3 hour drive and I would love to see a great gray owl again (despite the owls aplenty last winter).

I checked out the nearby area and parked next to the last known sighting near some hydro poles just up the hill from Purcell on Glamorgan Road. Around 4pm or so, I saw an owl perched at the exact spot it had been pointed out to me earlier by Dan B. I drove up and noticed it was a Barred Owl. It was very alert and scanning the ground below for prey. I took some photos from the car. When I got out of the car, the owl flew off. I saw it perched there a few more times as I drove up and down Glamorgan Road to see if anything else was around. The Barred Owl was the only owl I saw. I left at about 4:40pm.

There may have been a GGO there as well but I did not find it. But the Barred Owl fit the behaviour description and exact spot provided by Dan B who was there and that was posted to Ontbirds later. It was tolerant if you stayed in the car but became skittish if you went out of the car. But stranger things have happened in the bird world and there may be two owls at the same spot. Anything is possible. The one reported earlier in the week is about 8 kilometers north of there. If someone sees that owl again, hope they report it.

On the way home in the dark, I saw what could have been an owl on the highway as something large flew across the highway and down into the field across the road. At another location, I am sure it was an owl...a smaller one based on the size...flash across another highway from high right and down to left across the road. Could have been anything from a screech owl to who knows what. My car headlights lit it up in flight and it appeared to be checkered or barred grayish in colour. Glad I didn't hit anything.