This was in my backyard today!

I came home today, looked out into my backyard and was taken aback when I saw this guy on the tree right outside my window. It's hard to tell, but he is BIG! I was so excited, as I have never seen any bird this big perched on a branch right in front of me. So, I called Brian to tell him all about the "owl" that was in our yard. He precedes to tell me that he saw the same said owl not too long ago in the way back (wooded area) of our yard.

Well, I decided I had to look up what kind of owl it was but I only had this picture to go by:

Not the best picture, since it was snowing and I was taking the picture from my kitchen, so that is when I cropped it and realized what it REALLY looked like. No wonder none of the owls online looked like this fellow. Um, he's not an owl! He is a hawk. Doh!

How silly did I feel? Well, it was hard to make out the picture and I am going with that. Plus, Brian thought it was an owl too. Then, Tyler comes home, looks at the picture and says, "Oh, dad and I saw that same owl in the woods not too long ago." Phew, it wasn't just me. Really, it was hard to tell! I guess (after some extensive research) he's a Rough-legged hawk.

Well, at least I know NOW! And so do you, if you should ever have one in your backyard. Hey, you never know!