Short Eared Owls at Middle Creek

Thursday March 29 was a rather warm spring day with temps in the upper 60's, so I decided to go to Middle Creek in the late afternoon to check and see if I could see the Short Eared Owls and them to my 2018 year list.

I arrived at the Middle Creek tour road stop 3 around 6:45pm as the sun was setting and the wait began. as I waited I observed several thousand Snow Geese, a female Northern Harrier, Eastern Meadowlarks, Ring Necked Pheasant, Bald eagles, Northern shovelers and a first of the year Osprey... to name a few.

As the sun continued it decent, I was getting anxious to see the Owls. My patience was rewarded around 7:50pm when not only one Short Eared Owl appeared but three. I watched them for about 15 minutes until it was to dark to see and then left for the day with my goal accomplished and a total species count of 36 - a good day. Below is a short recap of the Short Eared owl and a link to the all about birds ID site.

allaboutbirds

Until next time - good birding.

Not all that wander are lost.

Short-eared owl

Species

The short-eared owl is a species of typical owl. Owls belonging to genus Asio are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or may not be visible. Asio flammeus will display its tufts when in a defensive pose, although its very short tufts are usually not visible. The short-eared owl is found in open country and grasslands. The scientific name is from Latin. The genus name Asio is a type of eared owl, and flammeus means "flame-coloured".

Short Eared Owl - stock photos