Short-ear but No Long-ear: February 1, 2022

You have a good chance of seeing an owl at Downsview Park in winter but it is not guaranteed.

This morning I met a gentleman who had driven all the way from Ottawa to see a Long-eared Owl. After two hours of wandering, he hadn’t succeeded and neither did this morning’s group.

In fact, we saw one owl but it was a very close Short-eared Owl and everyone had a good look.

Short-eared Owl
Short-eared Owl
Short-eared Owl
Short-eared Owl

13 to 17 inches in height, Short-eared Owls allow very close approach although I wouldn’t go closer than about 5 metres. .

Short-eared Owl
Short-eared Owl
Short-eared Owl

Today’s group:

Park scenes:

Trembling Aspen (Populus tremuloides)
Black Walnut (Juglans nigra)

Other birds:

American Tree Sparrows
Hairy Woodpecker (female)
Mourning Dove
American Tree Sparrow

MAILBOX

Hi Miles,
I enclose a picture. This was taken last week by a friend’s Mother, this is her 19th floor balcony!

Cooper’s Hawk (juvenile)

NATURE POETRY


Announced by all the trumpets of the sky,
Arrives the snow, and, driving o’er the fields,
Seems nowhere to alight: the whited air
Hides hills and woods, the river, and the heaven,
And veils the farm-house at the garden’s end.        – Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82)

Miles Hearn

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