I think you have it ! Sharp looking little duck.I could use some opinions on this one. I think it's a 1st-year female which isn't helping my ID. But the eye ring rules out the scaups and makes it a Ringed-neck?
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Thanks.I think you have it ! Sharp looking little duck.
Very cool! That bird is lifer for me. Unfortunately not one I'm very likely to just stumble into, but perhaps I'll be able to put in a little time on it this winter.Still thinking it was likely a hawk they were mobbing I starting shooting photos. They were pretty high up and a 150 yards away when I noticed that the bird's head was blunt and rounded. I sort of thought flushed Barn owl but it quickly became evident it had far too much dark in the plumage. Short-eared owl !
Looks like your location is SE WA? Until this SEOW my other experiences seeing them were near Steptoe Butte by Colfax. Heading into the park a couple of hours before dark I would see them hunting the fields in great side lighting. Seems it was Spring..but it has been about 20 years or so. Very cool place to visit.Thanks.
Very cool! That bird is lifer for me. Unfortunately not one I'm very likely to just stumble into, but perhaps I'll be able to put in a little time on it this winter.
Had a pretty cool bird here on Thanksgiving Day. Was talking to a birding jogger on our road and mentioned rarities. There is Short-eared owl that a couple others see yearly it seems about 3 miles away in a more plains habitat than this muddy river bottom here. I go over at times on bike and give it an effort to see the owl but usually nothing but harriers.. I think I had a may have had a quick glimpse last year of the owl. While chatting, a mob of crows was doing the business on a bird of prey. Sometimes they harass the local raptors, but as @Wadin' Boot noted before those crows are darn good guides to special birds.
Still thinking it was likely a hawk they were mobbing I starting shooting photos. They were pretty high up and a 150 yards away when I noticed that the bird's head was blunt and rounded. I sort of thought flushed Barn owl but it quickly became evident it had far too much dark in the plumage. Short-eared owl !
My nemesis bird was an easy spot on this day and almost backyard. No bike ride needed. They slowly circled overhead.
The crows were all over the owl and that is always worrisome. Then nature did exactly what it does. Surprises. The crows peeled off and the darn owl followed them west ! An odd thing, the owl flying so high.
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So cool! Short-eared Owl is on my list for this winter.Had a pretty cool bird here on Thanksgiving Day. Was talking to a birding jogger on our road and mentioned rarities. There is Short-eared owl that a couple others see yearly it seems about 3 miles away in a more plains habitat than this muddy river bottom here. I go over at times on bike and give it an effort to see the owl but usually nothing but harriers.. I think I had a may have had a quick glimpse last year of the owl. While chatting, a mob of crows was doing the business on a bird of prey. Sometimes they harass the local raptors, but as @Wadin' Boot noted before those crows are darn good guides to special birds.
Still thinking it was likely a hawk they were mobbing I starting shooting photos. They were pretty high up and a 150 yards away when I noticed that the bird's head was blunt and rounded. I sort of thought flushed Barn owl but it quickly became evident it had far too much dark in the plumage. Short-eared owl !
My nemesis bird was an easy spot on this day and almost backyard. No bike ride needed. They slowly circled overhead.
The crows were all over the owl and that is always worrisome. Then nature did exactly what it does. Surprises. The crows peeled off and the darn owl followed them west ! An odd thing, the owl flying so high.
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Yes, SE WA. I've seen you mention Steptoe Butte before as a location for them. I will definitely keep that in mind. Around here it seems like they uptick heavily in the winter months. (I suspect the sighting gap around the holidays is because of just that.) And while I'm at it, I should head up into the Blues foothills and try to find a Pygmy owl, which is another lifer for me.Looks like your location is SE WA? Until this SEO my other experiences seeing them were near Steptoe Butte by Colfax. Heading into the park a couple of hours before dark I would see them hunting the fields in great side lighting. Seems it was Spring..but it has been about 20 years or so. Very cool place to visit.
Add an off note, it is thought the butte is 400 million years old while the soil of the Palouse around it is "only" 7-15 million
North of Seattle there are quite a few in the Skagit flats https://www.kuow.org/stories/the-wild-season-2-episode-9
Super cool area for sure. I consider it Rocky mt foothill stuff compared to our coastal green mossy darkness I put up with.Yes, SE WA. I've seen you mention Steptoe Butte before as a location for them. I will definitely keep that in mind. Around here it seems like they uptick heavily in the winter months. (I suspect the sighting gap around the holidays is because of just that.) And while I'm at it, I should head up into the Blues foothills and try to find a Pygmy owl, which is another lifer for me.
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And yes, the geology of that place (and much of E WA) is kinda wild. I had a prof in college say it was an outlier of the Rockies. And if the 'pedia is to be believed, it's an outlier of the Coeur d'Alene mountains which are a part of the Bitterroots which are a part of the Rockies. So...
Went over to the shore this AM for a hike on the beach at Fort Macon SP. Light was generally pretty flat, but did get a couple of semi-decent shots;
Brown Pelicans in formation:
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Almost looks like a water color:
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Skimming the surface:
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Thanks for your indulgence.
Cheers
That's so cool! It looks like that was close to twilight, makes me wonder if the crows decided it was time to head to their roost. Like they know they turn into pumpkins below a certain outside wattage or something...The crows were all over the owl and that is always worrisome. Then nature did exactly what it does. Surprises. The crows peeled off and the darn owl followed them west ! An odd thing, the owl flying so high.
Good point. It was just getting to evening and a perfect time to meander to a good place to nod off for the nightThat's so cool! It looks like that was close to twilight, makes me wonder if the crows decided it was time to head to their roost. Like they know they turn into pumpkins below a certain outside wattage or something...