Stone cold killer predators come in all shapes and sizes in the natural world. However, I think we often think of large menacing critters with long sharp claws and razor-sharp teeth as predators and don’t give a second thought to small predators. Some of these small predators are often cute and adorable. That’s what makes them so cool.

I was thinking about this a week or so ago while I was photographing an adorable tiny owl. But behind the beautiful feathers lies the heart of a predator. The Northern Pygmy Owl (Glaucidium californicum) is a tiny owl that is native to western North America. As its name implies, it is a tiny owl, only 6-7 inches tall and weighs about 2-3 ounces. By comparison, the very familiar American Robin is 10 inches tall and weighs about the same as the Pygmy Owl.

I arrived in Yellowstone National Park a couple days before I was scheduled to lead a winter photo tour. I had a couple days to meet up with some other photo guides and get caught up on the latest info about the wolves in the park, but everyone was talking about the Northern Pygmy Owls that seemed to be popping up throughout the park.

So, on the second day I spotted one of the tiny owls up on a mountain side. I grabbed my longest lens and tripod and started climbing up the mountain side. The snow was only a foot or so deep, so it wasn’t too bad, but the elevation was over 7,000 feet and I wasn’t acclimated yet. So, I had to stop many times to catch my breath, look around to get my bearings and keep climbing. Every now and then I would stop and visually relocate the owl.

When I finally reached the area just below the owl, I was breathing so heavily that I couldn’t take any pictures. Several minutes later, I was able to slow down my breathing and focus my camera. What I saw in my viewfinder was the cutest, tiniest, owl with bright yellow eyes.

Northern Pygmy Owls are daytime hunters and mainly prey on small songbirds such as Chickadees. The pygmy owl is a cavity nesting bird, taking over old woodpecker cavities. They have a relatively short lifespan with average birds lasting only three to four years.

The perch the owl was on didn’t look very good and it was very high up in a tree, so I really didn’t take many pictures. Suddenly the owl took off and went to another tree that was even higher. I thought how am I going to capture some images of this tiny killer. By the time I worked my way over to the new tree the owl flew again. This time it flew down the mountain. I was happy to be going down and not up this time.

By the time I got near the owl again I was able to capture some images. These images were good because, even though the owl was near the top of a tall tree, I was much closer to being eye-level with the bird because I was higher up on the mountain and the tree was lower.

I thought perhaps this might be the best image I can get with this bird. I stood there just enjoying the moment looking around at the snow-covered mountains all around me, then the owl flew once again. This time the owl was flying directly towards me. It swooped up and landed in a small cedar tree not 35 to 40 feet away and was at my eye level. I swung my camera around, framed up the picture and pushed the shutter release button.

I could see through the viewfinder on my camera that this was going to be a wonderful image. The owl stayed there for several minutes actively hunting. Its head was swiveling around from side to side as it looked for something to prey upon. Small snowflakes were gently falling, and the air was cold.

Once again, the owl took off and landed in another tree much further away. I was thrilled knowing that I had captured a stunning image of a marvelous predator. I turned and picked up my tripod and camera and started the hike down the mountain back to my truck. The snow was falling steadily now, and by the time I got back to my truck I was covered with snow. I packed up my photo gear and climbed in and fired up the engine. It was such a great feeling of satisfaction to spend some time with such a cool little killer. Until next time…

Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels the U.S. to study and capture images of wildlife. He can be followed on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. He can be contacted via his website at www.NatureSmart.com.