Caught motion out of the corner of my eye Saturday night, just in time to watch this guy swooping up to his perch on top of a snag in the neighbor’s yard.  It was about half-hour after sunset – only his stillness and a long exposure enabled seeing this much detail (notice the star in the background).  To the naked eye he appeared as he does in the second shot below.

Great Horned Owls are fearless, silent and deadly.  They’ll take on almost any prey, including skunks, and even porcupines.  That’s how they’ve earned the nickname “Flying Tiger”.