Kentucky Hiker Snaps Incredible Photos of an Owl at Rudy Mines

Ashley Yeckering of Owensboro spent part of her Christmas Eve hiking Rudy Mine Trails. The network of trails, part of Owensboro Parks & Recreation's revitalization investment at Ben Hawes State Park, is a 'series of three loops that interconnect equaling four miles.' The trails are scenic and they can sometimes offer up some exciting glimpses of wildlife.

That's exactly what Ashley experienced when she was there hiking the trails a couple of days ago. She says, "An owl flew past me and into a tree." Naturally, she was excited and snapped as many pics as she could.

According to the Kentucky Department of Wildlife, there are eight different varieties of owls in the Commonwealth. The six most common are:

Barn Owl (Tyto alba)

Barred Owl (Strix varia)

Eastern Screech-Owl (Otus asio)

Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)

Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus)

Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)

There have also been sightings of two other kinds of owls here in Kentucky, but such sightings are incredibly rare. That said, there have been occasions where a Snowy Owl (Nyctea scandiaca) and a Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) have also been recorded.

Here are a few of the pics that Ashley took of the owl she encountered.

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Now, I am certainly no expert. As a matter of fact, if there's an expert reading this and you can confirm or deny, please do. I compared Ashley's photos to the photos on the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources website. To me, the owl Ashley saw looks like a Barred Owl, which I have since learned are beautiful, fascinating and relatively common here in Kentucky.

They're found in Kentucky statewide and live here year-round. Plus, they're most frequently found in bottomland and forested areas- just like Rudy Mine Trails.