Hi Everyone—
This evening 3/1, Marcia Marvin and I decided to try for the Short-eared Owls that have been reported along Buckeye Road. We watched and waited at the west end of the field with the hunting blinds. Several other cars were parked at intervals toward the east and the power plant. There were three harriers working the field until about 5:45 pm, then quiet. By about 6:15, I had not seen any owls, so I drove back toward the power plant. At the entrance, I talked to some people who said they had seen two birds fly east over the rise, so I drove another 200 yards or so east and saw two birds in near darkness on a telephone pole on the north side of the road (the spot is closer to the railroad tracks than to the power plant). One was divebombing the other. As the one swooped past the other, the perched one let out a squawk. The squawk resembled a short version of a Short-eared Owl call. I have not seen this behavior before in either Great Horned Owl or Short-eared Owl, so I was left a bit confused. Could Short-eared Owls be getting feisty for the breeding season now, or did I just see two feisty Great Horned Owls?
Mark Miller
Longmont, CO
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