February 17, 2024
![](https://i0.wp.com/maderabirds.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/EGK_9760-Furrunginous-Pygmy-Owl-Pena-Blanca-Lake-2-17-24-DeNoiseAI-standard.jpg?resize=1004%2C943&ssl=1)
Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, Pena Blanca Lake 2-17-24
In November 2020 I found the same species at the same lake, within 150 yards. Perhaps the very same bird. Ted Wolff & I arrived at Pena Blanca Lake at about 8:30. There were not too many birds seen. No sparrows, not even a single towhee or finch, one sapsucker, no raptors. A few Pied-billed Grebes, Coots, and Ruddys. I noticed several small birds -I suspected Kinglets – flying about. We walked in that direction. I looked over and saw a silvery blob in a dormant bush. Examination with bins revealed it an owl, and the kinglets were watching carefully. Photographs revealed it to be a Ferruginous Pygmy Owl – a Mexican species whose range barely makes it into the US. I had to make it back to my car to retrieve a camera and got back in time for a few crummy photos.
![](https://i0.wp.com/maderabirds.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/EGK_8829-Little-Gull-Wilcox-2-7-24.jpg?resize=1024%2C741&ssl=1)
Little Gull, Wilcox, 2-7-24,
I meant to include this pic in my last posting. So you get to see it now.
![](https://i0.wp.com/maderabirds.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Looking-South-from-Pena-Blanca-Lake-2-17-24-cell-pix.jpg?resize=1024%2C831&ssl=1)
Looking south from Pena Blanca Lake. Cell pic.