Interesting owl sighted

[Isaac Kelsey]

Hello,

I’ve been watching this group from the sidelines for quite a while, but saw something recently that I think warrants a post. I was fishing near the Keno Dam this past Sunday and after fishing, hiked through a nearby stand of ponderosa pine on the way back to my vehicle. It was just after sunset but still light enough to see quite well. I saw an odd looking owl fly from a nearby tree branch to one a bit farther off. I approached to get a closer look and confirmed it was in fact a great horned owl, not that special by itself but it had a very interesting color phase. The birds back was mottled with very large solid white patches. Similar to a “smoke phase” turkey if anyone has ever seen one of those. I didn’t have a camera or even binoculars for that matter, but I thought I’d share this info in case others would like to try and find the bird. An approximate location for this sighting is: 42.13158, -121.94501

This area is closed to vehicles until Pacific Power opens the park for the year, but open to foot traffic year-round.

Good Luck,
Isaac