Great Horned Owl

This wet Great Horned Owl was, I believe, one of the parents of a pair of owlets that we were lucky to be able to watch grow up at the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Washington state in 2010.  In the four years I have been visiting the refuge (as of 2010), this is easily the closest visitors have been to these large owls.  They are usually at the refuge but rarely in so close to the auto tour road.  I took this shot in June of 2010 along the road that runs through the ash forest between posts 9 & 10 (for those familiar with the refuge).  Due to the low light in this location, I used my external flash to help with the light.  This beautiful owl was perched directly above the road up probably 30-35 feet.  What a treat to have this owl and the owlets so accessible.  1/250, f7.1, 400mm, 0EV, flash. The lens used was the Canon 100-400mm zoom.  I plan to also post shots of the owlets.