Northern pygmy owls are uncommon residents in the Absaroka Mountains here in Northwest Wyoming. We can occasionally find them in the mountain valleys west of Cody, especially during winter. I received a report from a photo buddy that he had photographed one on Monday so I spent about 4 hours on Tuesday searching the area hard to find it. These are tiny owls not much larger than a sparrow and have a home range up to 4 square miles so it really is trying to find a needle in a haystack. I unfortunately didn’t have any luck and have yet to see one this winter. Here’s a few images from years past to give you an idea of what I was searching for.


Jamie Strickland
27 Jan 2011very nice ! I have never seen one before
the little mouse is almost as big as the owl 🙂
D. Robert Franz
27 Jan 2011Cool birds and always a chance to find one in Yellowstone