Call of the wild...

I got home after a looong Saturday at work, it was still nice out so I started to walk part of the singletrack moto trail on my neighbor's property, looking for some alternative entry/exit points. I didn't get far before I heard a pair of owls calling simultaneously, a Northern Saw Whet and a Great Horned. Haven't heard either one around my house in several years, and the Saw Whet was close, so I turned around and grabbed my binocs and camera just in case...
No luck on visuals for either, but it was a nice walk in the woods just the same.


This is what's left of an owl pellet I found. I poked at it, trying to figure out what the main course was, bird or beast. I think it was a wee mouse. I remembered that I had my camera after I'd molested the sample, so I took this pic and went in search of another pellet...


Found this nice Turkey feather. I didn't bother taking pictures of deer and coyote scat, or the remnants of a Blue Jay...



Here's another pellet, undisturbed. Smaller than the first one I found. Couldn't tell you if it was from the Saw Whet or maybe a Barred Owl. Methinks not a Great Horned, too small, they eat skunks and such around here. The more I look at it, the more I'm convinced it's from the Saw Whet, based on the size. I'm guessing these were not more than a couple days old.