[TN-Bird] Short-eared Owl in Hawkins County
- From: Rick Phillips <sunfish0501@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: bristol-birds <bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, tn-bird <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 27 Dec 2013 18:38:27 -0500
I spent some time at dusk today (Dec 27) searching the fields near the old
cooling tower skeleton on the TVA Phipp's Bend site in Hawkins County,
Tennessee for a Short-eared Owl. This a a known sight where Rick Knight and
others (including me) have seen them in the past. I arrived there around
4:00 pm. At 5:15 pm I was watching a group of three Northern Harriers go to
roost, two males and one female roosting in the same spot in the fields
near the old cooling tower structures at the end of the loop road that runs
through the industrial park there.where we've had harriers roosting for 30
years or more. As I was watching the harriers settle in, another bird flew
in from the left. It had a bigger head, a shorter tail, was overall buffy
in color, and had light patches on the outer part of the wings. As it made
a pass at the harriers, I could see dark patches on the wings near the
wrists. I identified the bird as a Short-eared Owl. I got some quick looks
through a spotting scope to confirm. I watched the bird hunt the fields
(to the left of the cooling tower structure if you're facing it from the
road.) for around 20 minutes before it went out of sight over a bank
sloping down to the river. I didn't get a chance to get photos because it
was too dark and the land around the tower is all posted by TVA as "NO
TRESSPASSING". There's no problem with parking along the road here to watch
for the owl.
Rick Phillips
Kingsport, Tennessee
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