Outdoor Ontario
Discussion => Behaviour => Topic started by: Kris Ito on January 25, 2015, 09:05:19 PM
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Always exciting to see a Short-eared Owl but today I had the pleasure of watching some interesting behaviour. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time when a pair of hikers flushed the owl not too far away from me. I stood still for awhile watching the owl fly around looking for a safer place to roost. At the time I wondered why he kept landing and then taking off again quite quickly. I also noticed that he seemed to be diving head first into the tall grasses each time. This went on for several minutes, during which time I enjoyed seeing his beautiful face - not just my usual view of their butts flying away from me! Anyway, now that I am home and looking at my collection of fuzzy distant photos, I realize that he wasn't just looking for a place to rest, he was hunting! In the last photo you can see his prey dangling below...
(https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8643/16180723838_6687d9f1a0_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/qDQrtd)Short-eared Owl (https://flic.kr/p/qDQrtd) by Kris Ito (https://www.flickr.com/people/95264878@N02/), on Flickr
(https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8656/16368331025_3e470350d2_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/qWpYxT)Short-eared Owl - hunting (https://flic.kr/p/qWpYxT) by Kris Ito (https://www.flickr.com/people/95264878@N02/), on Flickr
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7445/16366613981_c6f0303100_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/qWgb8F)Short-eared Owl w/ prey (https://flic.kr/p/qWgb8F) by Kris Ito (https://www.flickr.com/people/95264878@N02/), on Flickr
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Lucky you! I've still never seen one in good light.
BB
Sent from my birdroid using Tapatalk.
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Not sure if your aware of this but see link, thanks.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Short-earedOwls
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Great experience. Congrats.