Re: [MDOsprey] Snowy Owl and Big Raptor Day
Marcia Watson-Whitmyre (mww@UDel.Edu)
Mon, 13 Dec 1999 09:31:22 -0500
THBeal@aol.com wrote:
> Made the trip to Port Mahon this am (Sun) and saw the Snowy Owl. ... It
> appears
> that it might have been wounded (shot?) sometime yesterday. It has reddish
> stains on the belly, breast and back to the nape of the neck. There also
> appears to be broken feathers sticking out on the left side of its breast
> near the shoulder.
I observed the Snowy Owl at close range (30 ft.) from my car on Sunday afternoon
about 3:30 pm. I saw it fly up onto one of the pilings by the bait shop and
then watched it for several minutes while perched. No blood and no injuries
were visible and it had no trouble flying. Perhaps the blood that Tom saw was
from a kill?
There may have been a seond Snowy hunting out over the marsh. This bird was
very distant, northeast of the bait shop, hunting at the edge of the marsh near
the river. At that distance the view was very hazy. There were some
Short-eared owls in the same area; I picked this bird out as a possible Snowy
based on the larger wingspread and different flight style (direct flight as
opposed to swooping and fluttering. All told there were at least a dozen
Short-eared Owls hunting over the marsh.
If anyone goes to see the Snowy at the bait shop, please observe owl etiquette
and don't try to get too close. A Snowy that was at a farm off Rt. 6 near
Smyrna some years ago gave great views until it was spooked by a photographer
who just had to get closer; then it flew off and was never seen in the area
again.
Marcia Watson-Whitmyre
Cecil County