It was actually a pair of owls we saw on our hike the other day. Heard them first, calling back and forth, disorienting in the bright sun of late afternoon. A rustle in the trees and one took off, a silent glide then gone. And then there he was in a different oak in another part of the canyon, still and watchful in the fading light,

I just can't get over how unusual it was to see an owl in full daylight. There's a moment early on in the video from yesterday when a small rodent of some kind gives a little 'pip' in the underbrush. The owl's head snaps around and those eyes focus right on the source of the sound. Yikes. Later on, when he stretches his neck a bit to get a better look at Teddy, there's a blink and his pupils adjust, and it's not anything I ever expected to be close enough to see in the wild.

Unexpected company on a hike this evening.