ML272516421

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Behaviors

Flying

Media notes

One of six Short-eared Owls seen this evening and here photographed in flight by Curtis A. Marantz on 18 October 2020 at Harper Dry Lake, San Bernardino County, California. Up to three owls had been seen at this site since the first bird was reported on 4 October 2020 by Jason St. Pierre.

Observation details

While working may way east along the north side of the tall marsh vegetation, I flushed six owls from the dense vegetation. After being flushing, the owls scattered mostly in a northerly direction, with some dropping back into the marsh vegetation and others circling around before landing in the open, albeit at a distance, on the dry flats to the northeast. Given that I initially flushed three owls and then moments later three more, I considered six a minimum number, but after my initial encounter, it was almost impossible to arrive at a precise number. These birds interacted with the two harriers in the same area, but the owls tended to drop to the ground relatively quickly, leaving only the harriers in the air. Given that I attempted to get photos of the owls in flight, I left my scope in place, so I saw these birds exclusively through my binoculars and camera. Despite the presence of several birds, and even their interactions with the harriers, I never heard any of these birds vocalize. All six birds dropped back into the vegetation before dark, and although I remained at the site until after the sun went down, I did not linger until it was truly dark. These birds were plump owls of moderate size that had a large head and a stocky neck that extended some distance in front of the leading edges of the wings. As far as I could determine, the face was relatively flat, and the bill was short and inconspicuous. Typical of this species, these birds flew with conspicuously deep and somewhat “snappy” wingbeats on relatively long wings that tapered distally before ending in rounded tips. The tail extended behind the trailing edges of the wings a distance that was slightly shorter than the width of the wings where they met the body, and I further noted that the tail was parallel-sided and square-tipped. I suspect I saw the legs and maybe also the feet, but I cannot now remember anything about them. These birds varied somewhat in their coloration, with some birds rather pale overall and cream-colored below, and others seemingly a rather deep cinnamon throughout the underparts. On the birds that I saw best, the facial region was rather pale, but I was uncertain if it was more whitish or pale buff. I did notice what appeared to be a black eyering that accentuated each eye. Apart from the face, the head and what I could see of the neck was medium-brown with a subtly streaked appearance. The back was similarly colored but more conspicuously streaked darker, and the tail was noticeably but seemingly rather finely barred with dark brown and what appeared to be buff. The upperside of the wing was a warm, medium-brown, but with a paler region that I suspect extended across the bases of the primaries and also a darker region near the shoulder that I suspect represented the primary coverts, but overall, the markings on the upperwings were relatively subtle. I thought there was some suggestion of streaking on the breast and sides of at least some of these birds, but I cannot now recall if it was more prevalent on the darker or the lighter birds. I thought all of these birds had rather pale underwings that were either cream-colored or pale buff, but also with a blackish spot near the wrist that I thought most likely represented the primary underwing coverts, and also at least some degree of dark to blackish tips to the outer primaries that resulted in a narrow, dark frame to the wingtips. Whereas the uppersides of the wings had some suggestion of barring on the remiges, I noted no such pattern on the undersides. I noted yellow irides that contrasted with black pupils on more than one of these birds, but I am not sure I ever saw clearly the colors of the bill or feet, and I was not even sure if the legs were bare or feathered.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Lens

EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

ISO

800

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/1600 sec

Dimensions

3530 pixels x 2250 pixels

Original file size

10.47 MB