Turkey Point- Short-eared Owl

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Hi All:
The following is a discussion between myself and Marcia Whitmyre
re:possible short-eared owl at Turkey Point this past Sat.  I wanted to
confer before posting.
> Had a bird at TP Sat, could swear it was a short-ear owl.   What do
you think?
> Long, broad wings tapered at ends.
> Very bulky body through chest, and tawny coloured thru chest,
otherwise
> pale underparts.
> Huge head projection beyond wings, almost impression of wings set back

> on body.
> Short tail.
> Top side of wings also looked tawny.
> Dark looking area around the elbow.
> Differed in flight from any raptor, in that wings travelled through
full
> arc, both above and below a horizontal plane.  There was no gliding,
> constant, steady wing-beat.
> About the size of a coops, but wings much broader .

Sounds like a good description.  The tawny wing patches are a good field

mark and are usually quite obvious.  How high above the ground was this
critter?

"The bird was flying about a glass above the horizon, crossing the North
East river in a northerly direction.  "

I have only seen them flying low, like a hunting harrier (of
course, they must fly high sometime), and when they are that low their
wing
beats are quite erratic - it almost seems like they should fall out of
the
air.  Gary decribes the wing action "like a giant fluttering moth."  I
know
they are found in the Stemmer's Run area, which is just a skip across
the
water, and they may be out in the daytime, particularly on a cloudy
day.  In
fact, this past Feb, I heard two calling in the middle of the afternoon
(cloudy) at Courthouse Point - call sounds like a yappy dog.  So, not
impossible that you had one!  In fact, quite likely!  Neat!

11/09
Ho hummm- not too much going on. A Great Horned Owl calling back to me
provided some amusement.  ( I heard it first, and since I was alone,
called back, not caring if I sounded like an idiot ).   After a birdless
hour, took the dogs for a hike/swim.   When I got back to the meadow,
encountered a red-tail harassing a 4th yr. Bald Eagle, much vocalization
on eagles` part.  2 more tails joined in, I was able to show a hiker
from West Chester the action.  After they departed, nada....  I did have
a nice mixed flock of winter residents along the trail, including Brown
Creeper.
Leslie Fisher
Cecil Bird Club
North East MD

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