Thursday, January 5, 2012

Third & Fourth Snowy Owls of 2012!!

January 3, 2012

Richard Stevens:

Bryan Ehlmann and I sat in a cold car parked at Sedgwick Draw (Sedgwick County). About 20 minutes before sunrise, a Short-eared Owl flew down the field!

We then rushed over to Jumbo Reservoir (Logan/Sedgwick Counties). The Snowy Owl was not found in our brief search.

Again, no Rusty Blackbirds were found around Jumbo Reservoir. Few birds were found Arapahoe Red Lion and Duck Creek Wildlife Areas. We had decided to drive to Sterling Reservoir when we received a text about a Snowy Owl near Barr Lake State Park (Adams County).

We headed for home.

I dropped off Bryan and picked up Rebecca Kosten and we headed to Harvest Road (Adams). I scoped the advertised field and found the Snowy Owl within 15 minutes.

I also noticed a person with a scope walking in the field quite a bit west of us. It seemed like a good idea to take down his license number so we moved a little closer. I did not want to get too close (within 1/4 of the Snowy Owl).

Therefore, I set up my scope again and tried to figure out who the birder was. While doing this, I noticed a dark spot in the field behind the birder. To my surprise, it was another Snowy Owl (darker than the first one).

Later I found out that two Snowy Owls had been found (however, I discovered the second one without that knowledge)!

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