I understand they have not been seen for a week. It has been very windy. Hopefully, they are still around, otherwise they may have already headed north.
Avian flu is in the area, so hopefully it is not that. Have a great week!
Short-Eared Owl Hi!
Tag: #Birds
Short-Eared Owl Head On
I love it when the owls fly right towards you, especially in good lighting conditions. Most of the time they come up a little before before sunset, but sometimes they come up earlier.
A quote from Helen Keller:
Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.
In the case of the owls, occasionally they look people straight in the eye. On this large piece of land where people can only stand on a very small section of it, it is great to see the owls come up close to people and look them in the eye. Enjoy your week.
Wakey-Wakey Screech Owl
This screech owl was in a tree close to a little traveled road. Cars stopping in front of the tree did not wake it. Construction vehicles, and aircraft flying around did not awaken it. Other wildlife could not rouse it. It is one heavy sleeper.
I was rooting for this bird, I think a nuthatch, to wake it up. It flew from another nearby tree and proceeded to walk down the owl’s tree towards the hole. I think it thought it was not such a good idea to go further. According to All About Birds:
The Eastern Screech-Owl is known to eat a variety of songbirds, including the European Starling.
This was the closest it got to opening its eyes. This bird must have been tired out from hunting during the night. It could also be a good sleeper. Can you sleep through a variety of noises?
A Windy Day
Usually you do not see short-eared owls on very windy days. Sometimes you are lucky. Since there is ice covering the ground I think that caused some of the shorties to come up well before sunset.
Some used that to their advantage to ride the wind and seemingly hover when they were hunting.
This one landed on a post in front of where we were allowed to stand. Lucky us! It seemed to battle the wind to stay on the post.
Sometimes windy days can be good days. Have a great rest of your weekend.
Female Northern Harrier
Northern Harriers are one type of hawk native to North America. It is one hawk I mainly see in winter.
Food
Northern harriers hunt small mammals and birds. They can get rabbits and ducks. During winter, when I see them, they mainly go after voles and mice. This one is carrying grass, but I am not sure if there is a vole or mouse amongst it.
Hunting behaviour
I have found these birds in grasslands where they fly quite low going often between the grasses. Harriers hunt during the daytime. They can also hover then dive while hunting. Harriers rely on hearing and sight to capture their prey. I have seen them chase after and steal a vole from a short-eared owl in late afternoon.
Nesting Behaviour
Northern harriers will roost in groups on the ground, sometimes with Short-Eared Owls, according to All About Birds. Because they roost on the ground, animals such as coyotes and feral dogs will go after adult northern harriers.
These are fascinating birds to watch. I love seeing them hover and chase after the short-eared owls. Have a great Wednesday!
Red-Shouldered Hawk
I saw this while driving. I took the picture from a distance on the side of a road. This bird was in the woods and seemed to stay within it. I believe it is a red-shouldered hawk.
I had one person look at the back of the camera and he thought that is what it was. Also, that is the first choice the Merlin App gives for it. The second choice was a broad-winged hawk. The lighting was not great and it was taken from quite a distance. The photo is also heavily cropped and lightened. The colours may not be totally accurate. It appears to be an immature. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Short-Eared Owl in a Tree Jan. 2025
I have been catching every illness it seems coming into work since December. Therefore, I have not made any trips and have stayed close to home. If I can see an owl near a road I drive on, all the better. Luckily I have seen, two since December from a road. This short-eared owl was close to a road.
It was near a bird feeder that was active and a lot of small birds were raising cain in the woods around the owl. I was wondering if it would go after birds visiting the bird feeder. Someone has told me they don’t, however by logic it would be a possibility as barred, great horned, and snowies will get a bird. According the the NYSDEC website:
Short-eared owls are the most diurnal (active during the day) of all the northeastern owls. They are most often observed in the late afternoon and at dawn or dusk. These birds eat primarily small mammals, but they occasionally take smallbirds, and the young sometimes eat insects.
If it chooses to land on a tree in good sight of a bird feeder, it is watching the bird feeder, it is probably contemplating a bird for dinner.
You usually do not see the ear tufts on the short-eared owl. I thought it could have been because of the wind, however, according to National Park Service website:
“The ear tufts of the short-eared owl (Asio flammeus, family Strigidae) are inconspicuous until the owl becomes defensive or curious, at which point the whole facial expression changes: feathers around the nose may flatten and eyes narrow slightly.”
It seemed to be both curious about the bird feeder and defensive as many little birds nearby were expressing their displeasure at its presence. Have a great week!
Icelandic Gull
One very windy Sunday morning I went down to see if I could spot loons wintering near one New England Beach, which they usually do. No luck spotting any, however, I saw this gull which appeared to be picking up a rock, but I am sure it is a shell.
Merlin gives three choices for this gull. The first one is an Icelandic Gull. If I am wrong, let me know. The other two to me do not look that close to this one. It is hard to tell with the early morning light, but it appears to be an immature. The east coast of the northern US is within the range for the non breeding gulls. Only some of the gulls migrate south for the winter. Many stay in the arctic all year.
The gull appeared to be heading in the direction of the jetty. Possibly it would try to crack the shell open there? Have a great weekend.
Red-Tailed Star 2
The short-eared owls do not always come up during good light. So what do you do? We can watch the accommodating Red-Tailed Hawk.
This hawk stays close to where the photographers and other visitors are allowed to stand. She goes between a roof, chimney, posts, trees etc. She provides us all ample opportunities to see her. She even lands on the railing of the photography platforms while people are on it.
Sometimes she brings the voles she catches to a post to sit on and eat in full view.
I walk this location in warmer months when all the trails are open. You can stop anywhere on the trails around this place and hear a vole moving around in the grass. I think all the owls and hawks do not have to worry about competition or their food supply.
Wildlife is fun to watch, especially when they are so accommodating. Have a great rest of your week.
Moorhen
I viewed both moorhens and coots in Royal Parks in London. The moorhen reminds me of another bird, the American Coot. Coots and moorhens are related. How are they alike and different?
To me the major similarity are the legs and feet. I describe them as lizard like. They both are omnivores and eat plants and small animals. In addition they both have a reddish tint to their eyes. Both Moorhens and Coots can be seen in England and parts of the U.S. I have yet to see a moorhen in the US. They are also both known to hang around near ducks.
They do differ in some ways. Coots are more black in plumage while Moorhens have black and brownish colouring. Moorhens have a red face shield and a yellow beak, while coots have a white face shield and beak.
Did you know these birds are also known as swamp chickens? It may be because the body looks like that of a chicken. In old English they were known as morhens. In old English mor means marsh. Do you know any other birds that have interesting nicknames?
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