Big Owl Year Part 3: A Parliament of Owls
- Jen Toews
- Feb 12, 2019
- 2 min read
Today was the perfect weather for owling: overcast, cold, yet calm.
We had visited this place a week ago, and had struck out with the LEOWs, but had seen a leucistic American tree sparrow.
American tree sparrow below and leucistic variant above.
We began our long walk to the row of juniper trees, where we would search for owls.
Long-eared owls hide in juniper windbreaks like this one.
Although we were on a mission, we stopped to admire the hoarfrost on the juniper leaves and Russian olive fruit. Too bad the latter species is a noxious weed (list B in CO).
Our quiet meditative walk was interrupted when, all of a sudden, a Barn Owl emerged from the Juniper windbreak about 50 feet behind us. It sailed along the juniper trees, a Northern Harrier in hot pursuit. The owl descended into the junipers and the Northern Harrier landed about 20 feet away away from it and slightly above it. A raucous of songbirds ensued. They were not happy with the presence of two predators. Here is an adjacent field with hopefully plenty of field mice (judging by the myriad tracks in the snow) for both hawks and owls.
Owl #9: Long-eared Owl
February 10, 2019, 11 a.m.
A State Wildlife Area on the Eastern Plains
Around 11 a.m. we reached a juniper tree where we had previously flushed a large, unidentified bird. I methodically scanned the tree. First, whitewash. A good sign. As my gaze continued upwards it locked on a pair of talons, covered with buff-colored feathers. My heart rate increased. I knew I was looking at a LEOW, but I needed to see his/her face. I looked up and was met with a pair of yellow eyes set back in rusty-yellow feathers. Then another pair of eyes. Soon a third owl appeared, which meant I was looking at a parliament of owls. (A group of owls is known as a parliament, because owls have long been considered wise.) I slowly backed away so Christi could see.
Believe it or not, seeing three superb owls was way more exciting than the 2019 Super Bowl would have been (I could have guessed the Patriots would win again without wasting 3 precious hours of my life).
After the owls, we took the scenic way back to our car. I pondered what it would be like if the United States was run by a parliament of owls.
I also took a photo of the POND 9 sign to commemorate seeing 9 species of North American owls.
Oh, and on the return we ran into our 3rd owl species for the day, a Great-horned Owl. Three-owl days are becoming more common for us.
Here is the last stretch to the parking lot. It looks both bleak and beautiful. Sadly, I did not realize how beautiful the Eastern Plains are during the winter until after living in Colorado for a few years.
Great-horned Owl in flight.
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