Message Board Topic

Index:

Short-Eared Owls at Armleder posted by W. Travis Young on December 7, 2009 at 10:32:17

Re: Short-Eared Owls at Armleder posted by Kirk Westendorf on December 7, 2009 at 12:25:00

Re: Short-Eared Owls at Armleder posted by W. Travis Young on December 7, 2009 at 13:20:13

Re: Short-Eared Owls at Armleder posted by Jonathan Frodge on December 7, 2009 at 17:03:19

Re: Short-Eared Owls at Armleder posted by eric burkholder on December 7, 2009 at 21:07:47

Re: Short-Eared Owls at Armleder posted by William Hull on December 7, 2009 at 23:48:53

Messages:

	Short-Eared Owls at Armleder         posted by W. Travis Young on December 7, 2009 at 10:32:17
	There was a post of a Short-eared Owl at Armleder on Nov. 21st. Wondering if anyone has been looking for them there lately?
	Reply         Top of Page

	Re: Short-Eared Owls at Armleder         posted by Kirk Westendorf on December 7, 2009 at 12:25:00
	I'm there 2 or 3 nights a week and have yet to see one again. In fact, I probably jumped the gun on my previous sighting. Eric only saw the owl briefly and while I had a longer view and still think it COULD have been a Short-eared, it's more prudent to label the sighting as owl sp. The bird was flying pretty high in the air and I didn't see it near the ground like I usually do. It seemed to fly like an SEO but I have little experience with seeing other owl species in flight. We only got a silhouette view of it but it was definitely an owl. I suppose I was just overexcited about seeing one again. It's been a long wait this year. Last year I saw one there in late October! Hopefully, they'll show up pretty soon. My apologies to anyone who chased. I'm usually more careful about such things.
	Reply         Top of Page

	Re: Short-Eared Owls at Armleder         posted by W. Travis Young on December 7, 2009 at 13:20:13
	Hopefully they will show up this winter like they did last. I was unable to see them last year so was looking forward to this winter.
	Reply         Top of Page

	Re: Short-Eared Owls at Armleder         posted by Jonathan Frodge on December 7, 2009 at 17:03:19
	Kirk et al., I usually keep an eye out while birding Armeleder and have definitely not seen SEOW this season. Out of curiosity, what portion of the park was your suspicious owl seen in? I'd lean towards SEOW if your owl was, for example, cruising over the open fields far from any treeline versus in trees or close to trees. Always happy to see when these guys arrive back at Armleder, even if I've been threatened with a ticket for staying too late to try and see them. It'd be worth it.
	Reply         Top of Page

	Re: Short-Eared Owls at Armleder         posted by eric burkholder on December 7, 2009 at 21:07:47
	The owl was seen at about 6;00 p.m. Flying 200- 300 ft. high in the sky, coming from the SE flying over the shelter house and heading NW toward the surrounding hills. I never saw it lose altitude. Have never seen a SEOW flying that high coming out of the fields around Armleder. It is possible that it was one of the GHO that have been reported around the park this year.
	Reply         Top of Page

	Re: Short-Eared Owls at Armleder         posted by William Hull on December 7, 2009 at 23:48:53
	FWIW, a few years ago when there were lots of Short-eared Owls at Armleder I saw them perched high in trees and flying at altitudes at which they became very small to the naked eye. This behavior was during the daytime, both sunny and cloudy days. On those same days they also made many flights low close to the top of the vegetation in the fields. Eric and Kirk had much more experience with them at dusk than I. The few times I did observe them at dusk they tended to be down low but I am not sure if that is a function of observer bias or not. If they are flying higher but against a backdrop of tall trees or a dark sky they could be very difficult to see versus higher against a light sky or low and close to the observer.
	Reply         Top of Page