Life List 001
Visually documented
Great Horned Owl
Bubo virginianus
- First photographed
- November 23, 2025
- First location
- Tucson, Arizona, United States
- Conservation status
- Least Concern
The encounter
Field journal
On November 23, 2025, Rob and I were hiking in Saguaro National Park near Tucson when we encountered a Great Horned Owl asleep on a rocky ledge just off the trail. Its mottled feathers blended beautifully into the surrounding stone as it rested above the Sonoran Desert, with saguaros and the Tucson basin stretching into the distance behind it. I made this photograph with my iPhone, before I knew it would become the first entry in a lifelong project to photograph as many of the world’s birds as possible. It is not the polished bird portrait I might set out to create today, but it holds something even more important: the beginning. This sleeping Great Horned Owl became Visual Life List No. 001.
An evolving study
Great Horned Owl portfolio
This collection grows as I return to photograph new behavior, habitat, seasons, and stages of life.
Return visits
The journal continues
New chapters are added here as I encounter this species again across seasons, places, and years.
On January 15, 2026, I encountered another Great Horned Owl roosting in a tree. Unlike the sleeping desert owl that began this project, this bird was awake and watchful, offering a much closer view of its yellow eyes, ear tufts, and barred plumage. The sighting expanded the portfolio from a distant rocky roost in the Sonoran Desert to the sheltered structure of a mature tree.
Natural history
Species at a glance
Bubo virginianus
Overview
The Great Horned Owl is a large, powerful, and highly adaptable owl found across much of the Americas. It occupies an unusually broad range of environments, including deserts, forests, wetlands, grasslands, agricultural areas, suburbs, and cities.
Identification
Great Horned Owls are recognized by their large size, prominent ear tufts, yellow eyes, white throat patch, and heavily mottled brown and gray plumage. Their coloration varies geographically and provides effective camouflage against bark, rock, and vegetation.
Range
Great Horned Owls are widespread across North America, with populations extending through parts of Central and South America. They are generally nonmigratory and can remain in suitable territories throughout the year.
Habitat
This species uses diverse habitats with trees, cliffs, rocky ledges, or human-made structures suitable for roosting and nesting. In the Sonoran Desert, Great Horned Owls may use rocky slopes, desert trees, and areas containing tall saguaros.
Diet
Great Horned Owls are opportunistic predators that eat mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and other animals. Their powerful feet allow them to capture prey ranging from small rodents to animals considerably larger than those taken by many other owls.
Order
Family
Regions documented
Behaviors photographed
From the field
The owl was resting on a ledge away from the trail. Its precise location is intentionally omitted to avoid directing visitors to a resting bird.
Photography by Brittany Templin
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