Racking Up Great Birds
My flight doesn't leave until about 1:40pm today. WildBird has already left for her flight, so I'm thinking of finishing packing and then heading to out to try and see an aplomado falcon before heading out. I've seen so many great birds this trip, some I've seen before and some completely new.
One bird that has eluded me in the wild is a barn owl. I've handled them but I've never seen one in the wild. Someone gave me directions to an old, abandon cotton gin:
Doesn't this just look like the set for lots of slasher type murders? I tried looking through all the broken windows and couldn't find the bird. The door was a ajar and I poked my head in. The wind rattled everything that was loose and you heard creaking and and metal vibrating. The building seemed like it could collapse at any time. I scanned and found a pair of barn owls. I tried to digiscope, but knew it was way too dark. It's enough of a souvenir for me though:
One of the birds flew to the other side of the gin and disappeared behind a rafter, then I heard tiny rasping begging calls--they were nesting! I headed out and left the owls in peace.
One bird that has eluded me in the wild is a barn owl. I've handled them but I've never seen one in the wild. Someone gave me directions to an old, abandon cotton gin:
Doesn't this just look like the set for lots of slasher type murders? I tried looking through all the broken windows and couldn't find the bird. The door was a ajar and I poked my head in. The wind rattled everything that was loose and you heard creaking and and metal vibrating. The building seemed like it could collapse at any time. I scanned and found a pair of barn owls. I tried to digiscope, but knew it was way too dark. It's enough of a souvenir for me though:
One of the birds flew to the other side of the gin and disappeared behind a rafter, then I heard tiny rasping begging calls--they were nesting! I headed out and left the owls in peace.













5 Comments:
That's one that has avoided me in the wild too. Cool pic! The blurriness adds to it.
Yea! You finally got your barn owl! I didn't know they'd nest at this time of the year--so cool--
Susy from UT
Susy,
I totally thought of you when I was looking at the barn owl in TX. You tried to help me get one in Utah, I just went to the wrong one.
Patrick,
Thanks for helping me justify the blurriness :)
I agree with Patrick--the blurriness, along with your wind-rattling description, really set the mood. Great lifebird!
Falcon image changed to http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/arizona/images/SpeciesImages/Aplomado%20Falcon%20in%20Flight.jpg!
(Not a birder, but a geek...)
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