Blue Sky Reserve

Owl perched in Blue Sky Reserve, Poway, California

The Blue Sky Reserve in San Diego County is several hundred acres abutting Mount Woodson. There's a nice hiking trail through the valley, with forks to Lake Poway, Ramona, and the mountain itself. Although this morning, I barely went farther than the trail head.

The sun was on the rise, some of the oranges finding their way around a low hanging wall of clouds blocking the sun's direct rays. I found a gnarled tree and started setting up for the shot. It will make for a nice silhouette against the colors of the morning sky.

Suddenly, an owl swooped in and perched on the upper branches of the tree. I was no more than 10 feet from the tree, and didn't want to scare the owl away. But desperately wanted it in the frame. I frantically, yet quietly, finished setting up the camera and tripod and started taking exposures.  Thankfully, Mr. Owl didn't seem to mind me at all. The clicking of my shutter and his symphony of hoots interweaved in an otherwise silent landscape.

Mere moments after the photo above, the hoots of a second owl joined our orchestra. In a flash, another owl flew in toward the tree - Mrs. Owl, I presume. Mr. Owl launched from his perch, the pair circled each other once, then flew off toward the rising sun. I was so captivated, I didn't capture it with the camera. But when I look at this picture, I still see the two owls heading off toward the orange glow of sunrise.