Friday, March 15, 2013

Owling During the Last Week of Winter

It's still a bit snowy around here and the lake is still frozen solid this last week of winter. But today it was to be the warmest day of the year so far, near 60 degrees, so I thought it would be a good day to get out and about and do some birding. As I headed out, I noticed a small amount of water along the edge of the ice down at the wetland. Look closely, you can barely see the reflection of the sky in the water where the dock is floating between the ice on the lake and the snow on the beach. I am so excited to see that reflection and my old friend the lake. Oh how I've missed it over the long winter.
Finally the ice is starting to recede!
My plan for the day was to head over to Deer Park to look for evidence of the owls my daughter has been hearing at night behind her apartment. The other night, when I got home after dark, I heard an owl near our house too. After listening to all the owl sounds on my iBird app, I decided that it sounded like a Great Horned Owl. I would love to get some proof of it, but there is still alot of snow around our place. There isn't much snow at all in Deer Park so it's much easier to walk around there. So today I did my owling in the woods behind the apartment complex. The first thing I came upon was this cool fort.
Neat fort with a Home Sweet Home sign inside



Then I stumbled upon another type of home. Wonder what type of woodpecker made these holes?








There was an old fallen down barn in the lot next door. I had fun exploring inside...












Looked like the perfect hangout for barn owls. It was a little spooky...







Vole Tunnels






In the field were tons of tunnels made by voles, also known as field mice, making it a perfect area for owls to hunt.
Entrances to the tunnels





















Then I made my way to the wooded area, checking the ground around each tree looking for owl pellets. Owl pellets are the regurgitated indigestible parts of the food the owl eats, and contains bones, fur, feathers and such. I did see a few questionable piles of waste, but didn't feel like poking around in it to see if it was owl or dog waste. I also came upon several deer droppings.

As I scoured the trees up and down, checking the tangles of branches, I hear some sweet little tweets coming from the woods. I followed the tweets and found some cute tiny birds flitting about the pine trees. They moved so quickly, it was hard to get a glimpse of them. But I would see a flash of yellow on the tiny birds crown, and a fleck of red on the crown of some. First bird that came to mind was a Kinglet. There are Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and I wasn't sure without checking my references which these little birdies were. I tried to get a decent picture of the cute little things, but the were so quick to flit about the tangles of the trees, that it was next to impossible to get a good shot in. I did get enough pictures that I could confirm the I.D. as being the Ruby-crowned Kinglet. The male and females both have the yellow crowns, but the males also have a red spot on their crown too, hence the Ruby-crowned. Here are the pics that cinched the identity.


So I spent almost an hour and a half wandering through the woods and found plenty of evidence that this was perfect owl territory, but no actual owl evidence. This won't be my last time, as I plan to go back in the near future!

~ Sherrie (Bird Lady)




12 comments:

  1. Love the old barn! Where is that????

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    1. It's not too far from DPHS, off of Crawford. It's a huge old barn, and pretty creepy inside, but a perfect place for owls to hang out!

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  2. When we used to live up north on acreage, I was lucky enough to see a Great Horned Owl a couple of times. He (along with other four-legged creatures) was the reason our cat was strictly an indoor buddy! An impressive bird for sure. Good luck in your 'hunt'!

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    1. Hi Wilma. The Great Horned Owls are so impressive! I've only seen one in the wild once, years ago and would love to see one again. I just may have one in the neighborhood I'll be trying to find. I sure do hear them though. Our cat Stanley Oliver stays in at night when the owls are active. We've got a chihuahua too, and I got nervous when the Osprey were around when he was a pup, for fear they'd carry him off.

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  3. hi sherrie! i cannot believe all the snow! now that is winter! there is so much nature around you, it is considered very good luck/good omen when you spot one of our white hawaiian owls at night by the hawaiians, i always know it is them by the sound they make , it is so distinct. the last 2 nights and early mornings all i am hearing is whales slapping the ocean with their fins and tales, playing! last night was the most noise they have ever made, i wondered if there was a pod of whales, you know the moms come here to hawaii to have their babies, so it is always a mom and baby! tx for sharing sherrie, aloha, angi in hana

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    1. I bet you are impressed by the snow, being you live in Hawaii! You should have seen it back in December when we got 29" over night!

      I love all the symbolism owls represent. And the whales sound cool Angi!

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  4. Owling sounds like fun! Loved the photos and the kinglets. I hope you get to see one next time! Happy Birding and have a great weekend!

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    1. Thanks Eileen. Owls are one of my favorite birds, and so exciting to see! I hope I get one soon too!

      You have a nice weekend too.

      ~ Sherrie (Bird Lady)

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  5. Years ago, when we let our chickens free-range, instead of their nice chicken house, a few decided to roost in the trees. One morning we found the body of one chicken under a tree, headless. We'd heard about owls hunting techniques and figured that's what happened. The next night, we heard a disturbance and my husband went out to check. He was back in short order because he'd been startled. A great horned owl was on the ground, near the body of another chicken, but the owl took flight when he noticed my husband coming toward him. My husband said that, as the bird flew, he felt as if Dracula was after him! Huge dark wings! Very startling! After that, we made sure the surviving chickens found the hen house.

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    1. Yikes! They are huge owls, aren't they? I would be a bit frightened myself if one was after me! Yours is not the first story I've heard of them owls carrying off pets.

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  6. Great adventure owling, loved your pics. The vole tunnels were interesting .. looks like a little maze. Good luck on your next trip. Loved the kinglets.

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    1. Thanks Debbie @HooootOwl! The vole tunnels were so cool and ALL over the place! It did look like a huge maze. Hopefully, I'll get my owl soon! I visited your blog and am jealous of your trip to Ohio and all the birds you got! I'm not a good traveler, so I'll probably never experience far away birds.

      ~ Sherrie (Bird Lady)

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