Great Horned Owl Preening

The day after Christmas was a work holiday so I spent most of the sunny but cold morning cruising for raptors in some of my favorite winter raptor locations. I enjoyed observations of eagles, hawks, falcons, and owls. A pair of sleepy Great Horned Owls offered a few minutes to study and photograph them. One of the owls, which I believe to be the male since it was noticeably smaller than its mate, slowly fluffed its feathers and proceeded to preen as I was capturing a few images from within my truck on the side of the road.