[TN-Bird] Short-eared Owl Circus
- From: OLCOOT1@xxxxxxx
- To: missbird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, ARBIRD-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, albirds@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 21 Jan 2007 08:33:29 EST
Jan. 19, 2007
AR-TN-MS
Had a birder in from Oregon on Friday and spent a slow day bird wise looking
for a few species. We got great looks at Red-headed Woodpeckers in AR but
little luck in TN for other target birds on short time. The best trick of the
day happened in Tunica Co, MS, while looking for suitable LeConte's Sparrow
habitat which was pretty much a bust due to dry summer.
I spotted an uncut area of beans way out in a field, evidently left in a wet
spot that could not be harvested. It had grown up in a sparse cover of
panicum grass. We had just flushed a single Short-eared Owl from the road side
and
started walking out in the muddy bean field to check for sparrows in the
distant patch of grass.
The area of grass was pretty small, you could throw a rock across it
practically in any direction. As we approached the area another Short-eared
flush
from the sparse cover. Then suddenly the circus act began, owls popped up from
all corners of this small area. We ended with 27 SHORT-EARED OWLS flying
around us in the field. Many dancing around us like butterflies, turning their
heads to check on us on a flyby with some landing out in the open cut field.
These birds certainly are masters of flight.
I've seen more Short-eared Owls in a day before but never so many in such a
VERY small open area. Just as the bird we flushed shortly before this show,
I'm finding more of these birds bedded down in roadside ditches this year.
Pellets were everywhere and the beds were in small clusters in the sparse
cover
with some birds bedded down within just a couple of feet of one another. Since
the dry weather earlier in the fall allowed the farmers in to prep their
fields rather than having to wait for spring, there is very little good
roosting
habitat left for these birds.
Besides the numerous Kestrels, Loggerhead Shrikes and Red-tailed Hawks, we
also had close to 80 Sandhill Cranes (counted 91 on Saturday) in the fields
with the hordes of Snow, Ross's and Greater White-fronted Geese. This all
within
just a few miles of where the military jet was downed by these same geese
last week.
Good Birding !!!
Jeff R. Wilson / TLBA
6298 Memphis-Arlington Road
Bartlett, TN 38135
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