The Ferruginous Pygmy Owl is a beautiful little owl that while common in the American tropics, in the United States is found only in southern Texas and Arizona, where it is considered very rare.
My story could also be considered very rare.
Before a trip to the Yucatan Mexico, I researched big time. I connected with a kid from Michigan who had reported seeing a Ferruginous Pygmy while vacationing at the resort next to ours.
I made up a “Buho” sign and started early morning showing it to gardeners and security. On the third day a security guard got very excited and we tried very hard to relocate an owl he had seen but to no avail. But I knew I was on the right track.
On the fourth day of trying, we were coming home from breakfast and passed a young German couple on their honeymoon heading to breakfast. He was carrying a camera and I asked him what he’d seen. In broken English he described having no luck finding birds except this one bird that was just off his balcony. He didn’t know what it was but I sure did.
Much to his young bride’s dismay, I talked him into taking me to his room. I raced the 2 km back to our room to grab my gear. As we ran up to his third-floor room, I was busy getting my gear ready and Marilyn was setting up the tripod.
The angle for the shot wasn’t just right so we bombed next door and luckily that guy said sure, come on in. So here we are, Marilyn, Derek, Theresa, Benjamin, Mackenzie, the German groom, and myself, racing into this guy’s room, when his wife comes out of the shower with a towel wrapped around her and a very bewildered look on her face.
Everybody had a good laugh, I got some shots, and all ended well.
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