As I was riding my bike through some local areas (Durham Region, Ontario), it was snowy/rainy and pretty miserable, but the birds of prey were all out!
First, I came across a Red-Tailed Hawk just chilling on a fence.
So chill that I was able to ride right by them without even getting a flinch.
Then as I'm heading home through a bike path that cuts through a small local forest, I see a Barred Owl (OP photo). This is the first time seeing an owl up close in the wild, despite knowing they are in the area. The only other time I've seen an Owl in the wild was on a very dark trail at night, and they flew into my line of sight just fast enough for me to catch a glimpse (later confirmed to be an owl from my bike's camera).
As I'm taking photos of this guy, I switch to video mode. He's relaxed, then starts darting his head around, looking up... then I see a Cooper's Hawk fly over head, land in a tree next to this one, and starts calling like crazy! He flew off shortly after, and I caught this (the owl is in the tree on the right):
I generally seek out birds of prey, but am rarely lucky enough to spot one in the course of a day. Seeing three different species in a matter of hours is super rare for me!
