Showing posts with label Long-eared Owl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Long-eared Owl. Show all posts
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Fruitless Search
Today I decided to go in search of a very particular and special Owl. One that I've seen and photographed at the park before but one that I'm hesitant to even mention here on my blog. The reason is that certain species of Owls (including the one I was looking for today) are actually SO hard to find that when someone does find one, and tells someone else –well the word travels quickly. And unfortunately this knowledge can sometimes balloon into circumstances that aren't so good for the birds themselves.
Any way, I wasn't able to locate the elusive Long-eared Owl today but I DID find a spot where one has obviously been perched recently as evident by the "whitewashed" branches covered in Owl scat. Better luck next time I guess. All I saw today was an American Robin and Blue Jay.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
February Snowstorm & An Unexpected Visitor
Well today was the "big day" for the predicted snow storm. They were saying we were in for anywhere from 4 to 10 inches of snow and I wasn't even sure if I would go out today. The snowfall hadn't really picked up as much steam as predicted overnight and by morning there was maybe only an inch on the ground. As afternoon came though it finally did pick up and started snowing quite hard. I thought it might be fun to actually get out and snowshoe -as it could be one of my last chances! 
The snow that was coming down was the wet heavy kind and I knew it would be tough to keep my camera dry. Don't laugh, but I fashioned a clear oven-bag around my camera, cut a hole for the lens and taped it up! When I around at the park after noon it was really coming down but I was up for some serious snowshoeing and even wore my new ski goggles for a bit to keep the snow off of my glasses. I was completely decked out and felt like I could just about walk anywhere -which I did! I went right over the cattails and snow on the southwest side, sticking along the edges of the woods in case I might see anything interesting. I hiked almost all the way up to the north corner, then turned inward towards the center of the park, crossing the creek. It was quite a winter-wonder-land with everything coated in thick white, making the woods and trees seem more dense and mysterious. 
About the only thing I ever did see along the way was a lone wintering Robin standing at the edge of some open water for a drink. It was so peaceful and quite and "wintery" but the Robin reminded me of Spring and all the fantastic birds that it brings back each year. Since first seeing the Long-eared Owls last weekend I've been just fascinated with them. They are just so secretive and stealthy that I longed to see one again. With my big snowshoes crunching away loudly on the wet snow however, I was skeptical that I would see anything. As I neared the area where I thought I might catch a glimpse of one of the elusive LEO's, something else caught my eye rummaging on top of the fresh snow on a little hillside of Buckthorn trees. It had it's back to me but I could tell it was furry and some kind of large rodent. Though the blinding snow and dim light, I could just barely tell that it's fur looked very "hairy" with a lighter color at the tips and my first thought was a Porcupine! Then as it scurried ahead I tried looking through my wet binoculars and I could make out a long rat-like tail. "What the heck is a Muskrat doing out here on top of the snow?" I thought to myself! But then as it finally turned around to face me I was stunned to learn that it was neither of these, but in fact was an Opossum!!! 
I could not believe it. I've never seen (a live) one in the wild before and I CERTAINLY never expected to see one at PLP, and especially not in the middle of a snowstorm! I have a trustworthy friend who's told me he's seen Opossum tracks at the park before but it being more of a nocturnal mammal, I never expected to get a chance to see one at the park. To my amazement, once it turned around it actually started to slowly walk directly towards me. I was dumbfounded and frozen in my tracks but taking pictures furiously. It walked and moved incredibly slowly -almost like a sloth, not scurrying about quickly like a lot of other small mammals. It's slow movement could have been partly due to the deepening snow but it didn't seem to mind all the white stuff. As I stood there it just kept walking closer and closer and I started to wonder if maybe it couldn't see me that well. As I've never encountered one before I had no idea if they could become aggressive or not, but my instinct told me I better not find out the hard way. When he was only just 6 feet away from me, I decided I'd better do something and made myself look larger and raised my arms. Finally, the furry white faced mammal gave just some indication that it sensed something ahead. It kind of cocked it's head, sniffed the air and slowly came to a stop. I wondered if maybe they have poor eyesight in the daytime because honestly I think he would have walked right up to my feet if I hadn't raised my arms! 
He decided to slowly head a different way towards some cover of tall weeds and fallen branches and I circled around to find a vantage point for some more photos while he stayed still. His pink nose and naked floppy ears kind of reminded me of a little pig more than anything. Later as I read more about this mammal in my field guide from Stan Tekiela, I learned that it's official name is a Virginia Opossum and is also the ONLY Marsupial found north of Mexico! It's young are only the size of a navy-bean when born and crawl into the mother's fur-lined pouch where the suckle for as long as 2 months. Pretty fascinating creature to see in the wild I thought! The most interesting note however from my field guide stated that though they are nocturnal, they can often be seen in the daytime during the coldest parts of winter. And this may just have something to do with the fact that they breed during January and February. I had a hard time tearing myself away but I'd already taken so many photos of this guy that I figured I'd move on. 
After searching near and far for the elusive Long-eared Owls I was getting discouraged and decided to just sit on a fallen log for a while. After losing track of how long I was sitting there, I saw something out of the corner of my eye and raise up my camera quickly. The Owl had perched on a fallen limb off to my right but was looking in the opposite direction instead of at me. As I snapped my shutter I think (I know) it heard the sound and immediately took off. Though later I did see one huddled up in the cover of a Buckthorn tree, this moment was the only time I've seen one out in the wide open and in fantastic light too. 
Still a very neat sighting even though I never saw his face from my vantage point. As expected, it made absolutely no sound whatsoever from landing and then taking off again. It was as if it were a silent movie where you are aware of the movement but there is just no sound to go with it! They are one of the most fascinating birds I've had the good fortune to see in the wild. Definitely click on all of these photos for a better view. Oh, I almost forgot I also saw a Northern Shrike on my way back to the parking lot. He was singing loudly from atop one of his favorite trees.
The snow that was coming down was the wet heavy kind and I knew it would be tough to keep my camera dry. Don't laugh, but I fashioned a clear oven-bag around my camera, cut a hole for the lens and taped it up! When I around at the park after noon it was really coming down but I was up for some serious snowshoeing and even wore my new ski goggles for a bit to keep the snow off of my glasses. I was completely decked out and felt like I could just about walk anywhere -which I did! I went right over the cattails and snow on the southwest side, sticking along the edges of the woods in case I might see anything interesting. I hiked almost all the way up to the north corner, then turned inward towards the center of the park, crossing the creek. It was quite a winter-wonder-land with everything coated in thick white, making the woods and trees seem more dense and mysterious. 
About the only thing I ever did see along the way was a lone wintering Robin standing at the edge of some open water for a drink. It was so peaceful and quite and "wintery" but the Robin reminded me of Spring and all the fantastic birds that it brings back each year. Since first seeing the Long-eared Owls last weekend I've been just fascinated with them. They are just so secretive and stealthy that I longed to see one again. With my big snowshoes crunching away loudly on the wet snow however, I was skeptical that I would see anything. As I neared the area where I thought I might catch a glimpse of one of the elusive LEO's, something else caught my eye rummaging on top of the fresh snow on a little hillside of Buckthorn trees. It had it's back to me but I could tell it was furry and some kind of large rodent. Though the blinding snow and dim light, I could just barely tell that it's fur looked very "hairy" with a lighter color at the tips and my first thought was a Porcupine! Then as it scurried ahead I tried looking through my wet binoculars and I could make out a long rat-like tail. "What the heck is a Muskrat doing out here on top of the snow?" I thought to myself! But then as it finally turned around to face me I was stunned to learn that it was neither of these, but in fact was an Opossum!!! 
I could not believe it. I've never seen (a live) one in the wild before and I CERTAINLY never expected to see one at PLP, and especially not in the middle of a snowstorm! I have a trustworthy friend who's told me he's seen Opossum tracks at the park before but it being more of a nocturnal mammal, I never expected to get a chance to see one at the park. To my amazement, once it turned around it actually started to slowly walk directly towards me. I was dumbfounded and frozen in my tracks but taking pictures furiously. It walked and moved incredibly slowly -almost like a sloth, not scurrying about quickly like a lot of other small mammals. It's slow movement could have been partly due to the deepening snow but it didn't seem to mind all the white stuff. As I stood there it just kept walking closer and closer and I started to wonder if maybe it couldn't see me that well. As I've never encountered one before I had no idea if they could become aggressive or not, but my instinct told me I better not find out the hard way. When he was only just 6 feet away from me, I decided I'd better do something and made myself look larger and raised my arms. Finally, the furry white faced mammal gave just some indication that it sensed something ahead. It kind of cocked it's head, sniffed the air and slowly came to a stop. I wondered if maybe they have poor eyesight in the daytime because honestly I think he would have walked right up to my feet if I hadn't raised my arms! 
He decided to slowly head a different way towards some cover of tall weeds and fallen branches and I circled around to find a vantage point for some more photos while he stayed still. His pink nose and naked floppy ears kind of reminded me of a little pig more than anything. Later as I read more about this mammal in my field guide from Stan Tekiela, I learned that it's official name is a Virginia Opossum and is also the ONLY Marsupial found north of Mexico! It's young are only the size of a navy-bean when born and crawl into the mother's fur-lined pouch where the suckle for as long as 2 months. Pretty fascinating creature to see in the wild I thought! The most interesting note however from my field guide stated that though they are nocturnal, they can often be seen in the daytime during the coldest parts of winter. And this may just have something to do with the fact that they breed during January and February. I had a hard time tearing myself away but I'd already taken so many photos of this guy that I figured I'd move on. 
After searching near and far for the elusive Long-eared Owls I was getting discouraged and decided to just sit on a fallen log for a while. After losing track of how long I was sitting there, I saw something out of the corner of my eye and raise up my camera quickly. The Owl had perched on a fallen limb off to my right but was looking in the opposite direction instead of at me. As I snapped my shutter I think (I know) it heard the sound and immediately took off. Though later I did see one huddled up in the cover of a Buckthorn tree, this moment was the only time I've seen one out in the wide open and in fantastic light too. 
Still a very neat sighting even though I never saw his face from my vantage point. As expected, it made absolutely no sound whatsoever from landing and then taking off again. It was as if it were a silent movie where you are aware of the movement but there is just no sound to go with it! They are one of the most fascinating birds I've had the good fortune to see in the wild. Definitely click on all of these photos for a better view. Oh, I almost forgot I also saw a Northern Shrike on my way back to the parking lot. He was singing loudly from atop one of his favorite trees.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
An Epic Winter Hike!
This Saturday I had planned to go out hiking around the park with a friend and fellow birder who enjoys Palmer Lake just as much as I do. We got started at 9am when the temperature was still just 1 degree above zero! Little did we know what good luck we would have and how much interesting wildlife we would see on such a cold day. The sun was out and although it didn't do much for the temperature at least we had great light for taking photos. 
The very first thing we spotted right off the bat was this Coyote who was right out in the open! He definitely knew we were there but we were still far enough away not to be a threat. And besides that he was more interested in hunting rodents and we both got to see him pouncing on something in the snow. Later when we had hiked back around to where we started we actually found the spot where the action had taken place. After the Coyote we first heard, then spotted a Northern Shrike. Like they have been lately, it was making quite a bit of noise from the tree tops and was hard not to notice. Shortly after the Shrike we came across a pretty amazing sight. I say "amazing" because this particular species of Owl –though fairly common it it's range– is rarely seen; and now I know exactly why. The "Long-eared Owl is also a brand new species for me that I'd never before seen so it was quite exciting. Not only did we get to see one, but five of them together at the same time! They were truly a beautiful and fascinating Raptor on many levels. For starters, we must have been looking right at them without realizing it until one of them swooped down out from it's perch. 
Only then did we grasp just how well they blended into the trees they picked for the day. Even then it was hard to pick them out as they truly looked like a piece of bark until they moved or turned their head. In this photo are 4 of the 5 -see if you can spot them! Whenever one of them would decide to move perches, they would drop down and swoop through the air just above the ground without making ANY noise whatsoever. They seemed almost mystical in their ability to move so quickly and so quietly at the same time. Their flight was also pretty neat as they would tend to rock back and forth even in the quick little jaunts we witnessed. 
Eventually I got in just close enough to one in order to get a decent photo without all those branches in the way. Something I noticed about their unusual face is that they sort of have this white "puff"of feathers in the middle of their face which can kind of look like a mustache just above their beak. They were rather funny looking at times especially when they would alternate between having their eyes sleepily closed and then open them widely to stare at us. Once we were both happy, we retreated fairly quickly as we didn't want to intrude on them for too long and possibly prevent them from returning. Later as we hiked along Shingle Creek, another large Raptor came flying straight towards us and we looked up to see a mature Bald Eagle right above us! 
I've rarely had the chance to catch a good photo of an Eagle in flight but the timing was just right this time. I didn't even get my zoom lens out all the way before he was right above me, but again he wasn't all that high up! As if that weren't enough for the day, we then went in search of a Great-horned Owl in an area I have been seeing them lately. All my previous sightings in that area however were always at dusk and I honestly didn't expect to see one today. But our luck just get going as there, in almost the same spot was a Great-horned Owl. We made a couple attempts to get closer but this Owl just kept flying back and forth and perching further and further up in the trees. I managed one shot just to say what we saw him. 
The very first thing we spotted right off the bat was this Coyote who was right out in the open! He definitely knew we were there but we were still far enough away not to be a threat. And besides that he was more interested in hunting rodents and we both got to see him pouncing on something in the snow. Later when we had hiked back around to where we started we actually found the spot where the action had taken place. After the Coyote we first heard, then spotted a Northern Shrike. Like they have been lately, it was making quite a bit of noise from the tree tops and was hard not to notice. Shortly after the Shrike we came across a pretty amazing sight. I say "amazing" because this particular species of Owl –though fairly common it it's range– is rarely seen; and now I know exactly why. The "Long-eared Owl is also a brand new species for me that I'd never before seen so it was quite exciting. Not only did we get to see one, but five of them together at the same time! They were truly a beautiful and fascinating Raptor on many levels. For starters, we must have been looking right at them without realizing it until one of them swooped down out from it's perch. 
Only then did we grasp just how well they blended into the trees they picked for the day. Even then it was hard to pick them out as they truly looked like a piece of bark until they moved or turned their head. In this photo are 4 of the 5 -see if you can spot them! Whenever one of them would decide to move perches, they would drop down and swoop through the air just above the ground without making ANY noise whatsoever. They seemed almost mystical in their ability to move so quickly and so quietly at the same time. Their flight was also pretty neat as they would tend to rock back and forth even in the quick little jaunts we witnessed. 
Eventually I got in just close enough to one in order to get a decent photo without all those branches in the way. Something I noticed about their unusual face is that they sort of have this white "puff"of feathers in the middle of their face which can kind of look like a mustache just above their beak. They were rather funny looking at times especially when they would alternate between having their eyes sleepily closed and then open them widely to stare at us. Once we were both happy, we retreated fairly quickly as we didn't want to intrude on them for too long and possibly prevent them from returning. Later as we hiked along Shingle Creek, another large Raptor came flying straight towards us and we looked up to see a mature Bald Eagle right above us! 
I've rarely had the chance to catch a good photo of an Eagle in flight but the timing was just right this time. I didn't even get my zoom lens out all the way before he was right above me, but again he wasn't all that high up! As if that weren't enough for the day, we then went in search of a Great-horned Owl in an area I have been seeing them lately. All my previous sightings in that area however were always at dusk and I honestly didn't expect to see one today. But our luck just get going as there, in almost the same spot was a Great-horned Owl. We made a couple attempts to get closer but this Owl just kept flying back and forth and perching further and further up in the trees. I managed one shot just to say what we saw him. 
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