Owl & Meadowlark

Another brisk sunny day and lots of people out walking and enjoying it. Today’s stroll took me to Brunswick Point where there were several other birders/photographers in addition to everyone else. From the birding perspective it seemed like mostly the regulars at the start. Half way along the trail I noticed a Short-eared Owl land in the farm field adjacent to the trail.

Short-eared Owl
Short-eared Owl

Once I made my way up to it I could see it was just taking a break from hunting over the marsh and resting in the sun.

Short-eared Owl
Short-eared Owl

It was not long before others were stopping beside me to see what I was looking at. It was far enough away that the Short-eared Owl was not overly concerned and continued to rest a while longer before its next sortie in search of food.

As I continued my walk I was joined briefly by some birding friends. We discussed recent sightings as we made our way south along the trail. Prior to splitting up he commented on how some Meadowlarks would be nice. As luck would have it, for me anyways,

Western Meadowlark
Western Meadowlark

… on my way back I came across two Western Meadowlarks. They were busy foraging in the marsh, but I was unable to get a better angle on them before they flew off to the other side of the dyke and out of sight in the fields. A nice find to finish the afternoon.

Short-eared Owl

After some errands I had time for a short walk before it got dark. With the wind from the other day having subsided, I headed out to Brunswick Point. There were at least six Snowy Owls some distance off in the marsh. There were several Northern Harriers and Short-eared Owls cruising and hunting over the marsh. Unfortunately the overcast skies were not conducive to flight shots.

Short-eared Owl
Short-eared Owl

On the brighter side, the Short-eared Owls do take the odd time out.