Short-eared owls fail to produce hoped-for showBy Dawn Hewitt 812-331-4377 |
dhewitt@heraldt.comLate in the afternoon of Dec. 26, a friend and I travelled to Hawthorn Mine in eastern Sullivan County, south of Dugger, with high hopes for an owl show.
On Dec. 5, 2003, a winter evening trip there with several other birders produced short-eared owls within spittin’ distance from our vehicle. They were flying near the road, perched on fence posts, stop signs and scrubby vegetation throughout the vast open area. We counted 57 owls there and saw 10 more at Beehunter Marsh on our way to the strip mine a few miles west of Greene-Sullivan State Forest.
On Dec. 3, 2005, on a Sassafras Audubon Society outing to Hawthorn Mine, we found 32 short-eared owls putting on another spectacular show.
On Nov. 11, 2009, Bloomington birder Vern Willkins counted 34 short-ears at Hawthorn, and on Nov. 14, he counted 20. The next day, Bloomington birder Lee Sterrenburg counted 18 there.
On Dec. 6, 2009, Bloomington birders Don and Betsy Whitehead and David and Ingred Beery took an evening trip to the mine and counted 57 short-ears, “many perched, many interacting, many diving on harriers,” Don Whitehead reported to IN-bird-L and Bloomington-birds-L, the state and local birding e-mail lists.
On Dec. 17 of this year as part of the Goose Pond Christmas Bird Count, Bloomington birders Don Whitehead, John Eakin, Bob Dodd and Jim Mitchell counted 62 short-eared owls in an area that included most of Hawthorn mine and field areas south into Knox County. As a side note, they also reported seeing an estimated 250,000 common grackles in “amazing mile-long flocks flying west to east at dusk,” Whitehead reported.
So on Dec. 26, I thought I had good reason to hope for an owl show.
We arrived at the mine around 4:30 p.m. It was cold and blustery, with dense, low clouds, meaning sunset would be fast. The biting wind made us want to stay in the car.
As we drove slowly down the lonely county roads, we spotted a few low-flying northern harriers not too far away. And then a few rough-legged hawks, with a wingspan even bigger than that of red-tails.
A couple horned larks landed on the road right in front of us, providing good looks at a species I seldom see.
Finally, we found four short-eared owls flying above a field. Their big, round head and distinct flight pattern made it clear that these big birds weren’t hawks. My friend remarked that they fly like bats, but most people say their flight resembles that of a moth.
The owls were a good 100 yards away, and although we watched them for a while, it was nothing close to the owl show I was hoping for. We drove around until 6:30 or so — well after dark and found no more owls.
Maybe the wind kept them on the ground. The birding e-mail lists suggest early December, not late, is prime owl time, so maybe most have moved on to better winter habitat.
Still, four distant short-eared owls is better than zero.
Contact Dawn Hewitt at 812-331-4377 or by e-mail at
dhewitt@heraldt.com Copyright: HeraldTimesOnline.com 2010
