Sixty-fifth New Yard Bird!

Short-eared Owl

Late this afternoon I was listless. Chatting with friend Barb on the phone, and gazing out the living room window. 

As I watched, something BIG flew around the large meadow across the road. At first my brain though 'Northern Harrier' but there were now 2 birds flying low over the field and they were quite large, no white rump like Harriers have and their wings were just too broad... and it was daytime, around 6:30 PM and... could those possibly be...?

"THERE'S AN OWL IN THE FIELD ACROSS THE WAY!" I shrieked into the phone. "BYE!" I was out on the front porch in seconds but already the birds had disappeared - if there was more than one... had I actually seen 2 owls? 

Since moving to Washington I have seen Barn  Owls, Barred Owls and have heard Great-horned Owls, but for the life of me, I couldn't even remember if I ever saw local reports of Short-eared Owls  here in Clallam County. Could I possibly be so frickin' lucky? 

I didn't waste time. Jumping into my car, then slowly driving east on Anderson Rd, checking every field I passed. I KNEW the owls wouldn't go too far, as I am sure they enjoy hunting the same grasslands and fields where most days you can find Northern Harriers floating around.

Finally I spotted one of the owls. There is a HUMONGOUS field where I often see interesting birds. In winter sometimes mixed flocks of geese and ducks wallow around the meadow. Numerous times I've watched Bald Eagles sitting on the ground in the same field. Sometimes they regally sip water from puddles, and other times the eagles just sit - like me - and enjoy the view. 

But today was special. The birds really were Short-eared Owls.  One owl floated around the field, much like the Harriers do - occasionally diving down into the grass, but sadly not catching anything. After about a half hour, the 2nd Owl was up flying around at the same time as the 1st owl. It only flew for a few minutes but at least I knew I hadn't 'wished' up a 2nd owl, there really were 2 owls. There was also a Bald Eagle that flew into a nearby tree along the bay, but today I only had eyes for owls. 

Most of my photos were fuzzy but happily there were some keepers