Birdful Friday

Yep, birdful...  Everywhere I looked and listened yesterday there were birds galore.  Before I left my apartment, I had seen multiple sparrows, juncos, finches, and had been spoken to by a raven.  The raven had flown onto the roof of Jo-Ann Fabrics, cocked it's head at me, and clicked.  I clicked back and added a few smacks.  The bird waved his wings and made some loud "tok" noises, and I echoed them.  He bobbed his head, I bobbed mine, and wished him, "Good morning, brother."  Then I walked away.  - I know - I'm silly, odd, weird, whatever you want to call it - but I love to interact with crows and ravens.
   I took Rosie over to the Snow back yard, and we both settled down in the sun and let it warm us.  Usually the smaller birds are extremely active in the yard, but yesterday, they were active around the edges.  I heard chickadees, blue jays, nuthatches, wrens, and a  flicker as I sat with my eyes closed.  Then I was startled to hear the whistle of wings above my head, and opened my eyes to see a flock of 17 Canada geese in their usual V formation.  As I opened my eyes, I also heard a single honk from them.
   Then I decided to discover why the small birds were avoiding the back yard.  I relaxed and started to let my gaze wander over the tall firs that line Jim and Kathy's fence line.  The last fir tree on the west side held the culprit - a large great horned owl.  I know how much Jim likes to see the wildlife in his yard, so I decided to go to the back door, and have him come out and look.  Kathy was working on her insurance stuff with Martha at the dining room table, and I'm afraid that I frightened Martha when I knocked on the glass.  Jim was involved in something, but Kathy and Martha came out to look at the owl.  We stood there and pointed at it, and shifted around until Martha finally spotted it.  She walked closer and closer to the tree, pointing at the owl.  The owl (a large female) had enough of that pointing.  She swooped down from her branch, sailed about three feet over our heads, and then almost hit Rosie with her talons; then she landed in a cottonwood.  Martha oo-ed and aw-ed, and then she and Kathy returned to the house.  The owl flew from the cottonwood to another fir on the north side of the yard.  I plopped down with Rosie and we continued to watch her.  Jim came out and I pointed her out.  Martha and Kathy came back out and looked again - which disturbed the smaller male, located five feet below the female.  None us us had seen him until he flew back to the fir tree that I had first spotted the female in.  Then everyone else went back inside and I took Rosie home.
   But wait! There's more!  I walked over to my bus stop, and started looking around, as I had 20 minutes to wait before the bus arrived.  I was facing east, and I saw a hawk appear over the trees - it was riding a thermal.  I watched this red-tailed hawk soar on thermals for 12 full minutes before he disappeared into the west, out of view.  He never flapped for the entire time I watched.  It was a great feat of flying.  I wished I could do something like that and seem to do it without effort.