Coy Kestrel

I was going to spell coy with a K for the title but I thought everyone would think I couldn't spell and not that I was being clever.  I really liked this shy pose, though.  I met a lot of people on my walk today and a few of them told me about a Great Horned Owl nest so I trudged through the snow to look for it.  I spent about half an hour walking back and forth in the area to which I had been directed and I even played owl sounds from my phone hoping I could encourage some movement.  All to no avail, though.  I did see two Belted Kingfishers but they were impossible to photograph.  I'll have to go back and look for the owls early in the morning or later in the afternoon on a warmer day.  I went back to check the perch where I've seen kingfishers before and found this lovely American Kestrel sitting there, so s/he gets to be a Blipstar today. :-)

Becky and the pups came to visit this afternoon.  They haven't been here for a while and they (the dogs) were ridiculously wound up, doing hundreds of laps through the snow in the back yard.  Piper sat on top of the hot tub and watched them and kept her distance until they calmed down a bit.  I am grateful that the snow hadn't melted yet because we would have had three very muddy dogs!