FreeLists / bristol-birds / [Bristol-Birds] Short-eared Owl, American Woodcock, Eurasian Collared-Dove, etc. (Greene Co., TN)

[Don Miller <raincrow@xxxxxxx>]

March 7, 2006

Greene County--
Joachime Bible Refuge unit of Lick Creek Bottoms Wildlife Management 
Area (JBR) (along South Mohawk Road; accessed on the western side by 
Matthews Lane);
Lick Creek Bottoms Wildlife Management Area unit at intersection of 
North Mohawk Road, South Mohawk Road, and Highway 348 (LCBWMA-348/MR);
Greeneville, Mosheim, etc.

A little before 6:00 this evening, I headed to the Bible Refuge to try 
to find the Short-eared Owl observed by Ben Britton on March 5.  
Traveling on Bible's Chapel Road and arriving at its intersection with 
South Mohawk Road and seeing the refuge in front of me, I decided to 
turn right (north) and work my way to the back of the property, 
believing that my best chance of finding the bird was to seek it in the 
area where Ben last saw it.  I was dead wrong.

Two tenths of a mile up South Mohawk Road from the intersection, I saw a 
large bird flying at about tree-top level off to the left, over the 
northwestern edge of the refuge.  I stopped the car and watched it with 
binos, realizing after a few seconds that I was seeing a Short-eared 
Owl.  The time was 6:20 p.m.

The bird put on a brief aerial show as it flew slowly into a glade-like 
area.  After a few turns, it banked sharply and dropped to the ground in 
a short grass area hidden from my view by trees and taller grasses.  I 
did not see it again.  I was lucky to have gotten a couple of good looks 
at the upperparts and to have seen it in flight from behind for several 
seconds.  There was no mistaking the characteristic flight 
profile--long, narrow, gently rounded wings; short tail; big head; 
buoyant, almost gull-like motion.

The upperparts appeared to be light in color, and the trailing edge of 
the wings was also pale, somewhat translucent in the late sun.  I tend 
to agree with Ben's hunch that the bird is probably a male.

After the owl disappeared, I went on to Matthews Lane and started 
walking into the refuge from the back.  Soon I realized that I stood 
almost no chance of reaching a good viewing area before dark.   I 
hurried back to the car and retraced my route to South Mohawk Road.  I 
was able to find a few harriers but had no luck with the owl.

I am aware of only three records for Short-eared Owl in Greene County, 
all at the Bible Refuge--the two from this week and one on December 7, 
1997.  At dusk on that date, Clyde Kessler (of Radford, VA) and I were 
birding at the refuge when Clyde saw a SEOW among a few harriers hunting 
over the open fields.  We watched the bird together for a half minute or 
so before losing it in the dim light.

Many thanks to Ben Britton for posting this rare bird.

I also observed the following today:

American Black Duck (3 JBR);
Northern Harrier (5 JBR);
American Woodcock (2 LCBWMA-348/MR);
Eurasian Collared-Dove (2 adjacent to West Greene High School);
Purple Finch (Greeneville).

Don Miller
Greeneville, Greene Co., TN

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