Top Ten Lifers of 2008: Number 7

For my Number 7 bird we will have to travel back to the Rio Grande Valley for my lifer Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl encounter.

My first Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl was found at the King Ranch in the Norias Division while attending the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival. Our excellent guides, some of them you may know from the blogging world such as Bill of the Birds and Jeff Gordon, were very diligent in coaxing this bird out and giving us some great looks. I saw not one but two different Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls on this trip. We even had a couple of Great Horned Owls later in the trip which gave me a nice two owl day. That's certainly not something that happens very often.

The Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl holds the number 7 spot because of it's limited range and difficulty in finding it but mostly because it's one helluva cute owl. Don't forget to click that Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl link up there to see a picture.