[EBB Sightings] Gr. H. Owl in Tilden - was still there at 5pm

The GHO that Ted Robertson described in Tilden this afternoon was still
there at 5pm.  Photo at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/36424218 at N00/483382312/  

Ted's directions (below) were very good. When I first got there, the owl had
flown 50 feet or so to the left. After looking for it for 10 minutes, the
owl flew back to the perch that Ted had described.

I do think Ted's "50 feet" means he must have more powerful binocs than
mine. I think the distance is more like 150 feet. The photo linked above was
taken with the "film equivalent" of an 1,130mm lens!

 
-----Original Message-----
From: sightings-bounces at diabloaudubon.com
[mailto:sightings-bounces at diabloaudubon.com] On Behalf Of Ted Robertson
Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 10:00 AM
To: sightings at diabloaudubon.com
Subject: [EBB Sightings] photo op of Gr. H. Owl in Tilden

This morning (5/3) at 9:00 AM in Tilden Park, I had the best view of 
a Great Horned Owl I've ever had (and I've seen 100s).   The Owl was 
50 feet from the trail and just above eye level due to the down slope 
of the tree this owl was perched on.  The owl was not obscured by any 
branches.  I'm fairly confident that the owl will be on this perch 
for the day.
The Owl was below Vollmer Peak in Tilden Park.  The trail head is 
located a few hundreds yards north of the intersection of Grizzly 
Peak Road and Lomas Contadas in the southern end of Tilden park in 
Berkeley.
Drive past the Steam Train parking lot to the overflow parking lot 
that splits to the right off the Service Road. Hike the Seaview 
Trail, a paved road, about .6 miles to the Great Horned Owl location. 
The paved road takes a long downhill dip past where you see great 
views of Mt.. Diablo.  When you get to where the Bay Area Ridge Trail 
forks off the paved road (trail fork is not marked with a sign but it 
is a major gravel road) at the base of the dip in the road, continue 
on the paved road past the 3rd Monterey Pine on your right and stop. 
You will see a clump of Monterey Pines. between these two 
trails/roads.  One of the Monterey Pines in the center of this clump 
of trees has a 20 foot long broken dead branch dangling straight 
down.  The Owl is on a live horizontal branch just to the right of 
this dead branch--only 50 feet from the trail and just above eye 
level since the tree is on a steep downhill slope from the road.  The 
Owl is not hidden by any vegetation and very easy to spot.  Three 
Wilson's Warblers were nearby, in the vegetation before the owl. 
Bring a camera, I doubt you will ever get a better shot of this owl. 
There were plenty of trail maps at the trail head.
--Ted--
-- 

Ted Robertson
Environmental Programs Director