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Subject:

Queen Annes County Snowy Owl on Dec 18

From:

danny poet

Reply-To:

danny poet

Date:

Mon, 19 Dec 2005 20:52:54 -0500

  Hi  All I was doing the The  lower  Kent county  CBC   on Dec 18, 05. 
their circle dips a ways into  Queen Annes County   west of Centreville  I  
handle  that part of the circle.    I had gotten permisson to enter a 
private farm to get to the Chester River to count waterfowl   Eastern  Neck 
Island is across the river from here.  Well any way my helper Rob Etgen and 
myself  went down to the river here at about 8:15 Am  and flushed a Snowy  
Owl from  near the base of a large tree near the  field  edge  with a large 
limb on the ground near it . A great hiding place in flight  first seen at 
about 50 feet distance it flew  away twords the center of the field  landed 
on a goose blind were it  provided great scope views .    Of course I did 
not have a camera.      After counting  the waterfowl     and thinking it 
over knowing the field and river edge are actively hunted  I decided to go 
home to get my camera digital as well as 35 millameter  [ wise move as it 
turned out ] went back . We  did not see the owl  on the blind were we had 
left it. We thought it had moved on  but nearing the same tree the bird 
flushed again  but headed to the river  landed on the river bank were  I  
tried to take some digtal photos  the battery went dead  rats . I  broke out 
the oldtime film camera  got a couple of far off head   shots. Then a group 
of Ring Billed  Gulls started harassing the owl it flew to the other side of 
the field  after which we decided to leave the area  as this owl  is   timid 
and did not  like or put up with approach by humans .    That said  the 
Snowy was a immature  lots of barring like Bill Hubicks photos of the  lower 
shore bird and a    a white face .  I talked to the property owners this 
eveing   the area was hunted  today. I do not expect this bird to stay put 
too bad . But the most interesting thing came up in the conversation the 
wife mentioned that she  and her kids saw a Snowy  Owl on the farm  about 30 
years ago.  Off course the owl can not be seen were it was from the public 
Rd.     So I can not provide an exact location. The fields are in winter 
wheat or some other small grain crop so can not be entered.   I will try to 
check on the bird again when there is no hunting going on  maybe it will  
move to a field were veiwing from the county road would be possible
this was my first Maryland Snowy Owl.    Bob Ringler and or Phil Davis what 
other records are there for snowy owl in QA county and Kent County ?  I know 
of the  one found dead  behind the safeway food store on kent Island a 
number of years ago. At the CBC tally it was mentioned that a number of 
years ago no date given that there was  a snowy on another Kent CBC.


Happy Birding
Danny  Poet
Queenstown ,  Md
birder2312hotmail.com