Greetings,

I spent part of Friday and Saturday photographing the Snowy Owls on  
Assateague Island. At one point on Saturday the 2 owls were easily  
visible at the same time about 400 meters apart near KM marker 22. At  
dusk on Friday  as I drove towards the OSV exit/entrance I noticed a  
Snowy Owl very actively hunting over the dunes about 3KM north of  
where he was perched earlier. After watching him for  a while he  
descended sharply behind a dune and quickly ascended with rodent sized  
prey in his talons which he promptly dropped. He then swooped back  
down and a minute or so later reappeared in the air with nothing in  
his talons. He zigzaged north in a haphazard fashion and landed on the  
sand. At that point another owl appeared in the air. The landed Snowy  
Owl took off and a brief but aggressive aerial skirmish took place. As  
I pulled along side this skirmish there was enough light to discern  
that the new owl had the pattern and shape of a Short-eared Owl. The  
skirmish ended very quickly and the Short-eared Owl disappeared headed  
towards the mainland. I sat there in awe for a while considering what  
I had just seen and wondering if my eyes deceived me. I realized I  
hadn't noticed a size difference during this brief encounter but  
considered the markings and the face of the owl to be unmistakable. I  
have questioned my id since then realizing that it was much more  
likely that this was an interaction between the 2 Snowy Owls and  
considered that the light was very poor.  For my own purposes it was a  
Short-eared Owl. Whichever species of  owl it was I feel fortunate to  
have seen something I never have seen before.

On Saturday I took two birders out on the sand to see the owls. One of  
the owls, which looks like it could be an immature female, had her  
face smeared with blood around the mouth and on the feet and lower  
portions of the leg.  Though I have seen blood on both of the owls  
before this was a new level of bloodiness. I asked one of the rangers  
if they have any idea what they are eating and he had no idea. The  
blood suggests that they are eating some prey that they can't just  
swallow whole like a vole. My guess is they are eating some of the  
many rabbits that come out to feed at dusk and into the night.

Cortez

Upper Marlboro, MD