I decided this past Sunday would be the perfect evening for an owl prowl. Before leaving the city I stopped to look for the South Side falcons. I found both falcons on the same window ledge at the top floor of the building on the south side of the east wing. A successful short watch, hopefully this was the prelude to a great owl prowl.
I arrived at the location south of Rochester about 4:45 p.m. The sun was shining bright and I started to look for birds. Usually one can see numerous Northern Harriers in the area during the daylight hours and the Short Eared Owls come out at dusk. I drove around the country block once and ran into a birdwatching group that was watching Snowing Buntings and Horned Larks. On my way back around the block I had a Red Tail Hawk fly just over my car. So far that was the highlight of the watch.
I caught back up with the birdwatching group and one person thought they saw an owl fly into the tall grass. We all watched for a few minutes when suddenly a Harrier appeared just above the tall grass. Well it wasn't an owl, but at least it was a Harrier. I proceeded to drive around the block again.
I came back to the road where the Short Eared Owls are typically seen, and was at the top of a hill when I saw two objects flying in front of me just as dusk had arrived. I stopped the car and sure enough they were OWLS!!!
I looked to my left and there were five owls landing and flying around a tree in the middle of the field. I watch these five owls and until they flew away. There were owls to my left and owls to my right. They were all around me. I was in heaven for this 10-15 minute show.
My first owl prowl in a long time and it was awesome.
Lisa McK
