Snowy Owl at Dover AMC Museum

Peter Zoll took these photos today. They are distant photos, but are certainly of a Snowy Owl (or decoy) who can move his head from side to side. Anyone have any more info?

Recently Fledged Eastern Screech in Our Yard

Just had a wonderful encounter with a recently fledged Eastern Screech Owl. The neighborhood birds were having a fit out front, so I went to see what they were having a fit about and spotted this little guy "perched" on the side of a large oak.

Sally came out to see him, and we quietly watched for about 3 or 4 minutes before he flew off into the woods next to our house with many small birds in pursuit. Then much to my surprise, the owl flew right past my office window into a Rhododendron just to the left of the window, again with some small birds in pursuit. After a minute or so there, he flew up to a small shelf on the front porch. There he was about 10 ft from one of our hummingbird feeders. A male Ruby-throat showed up, fed without appearing agitated, and so apparently did not see the owl.

It is COLD here in Delaware...but the birds are still good

Sally and I are just back from 2 months in Africa...specifically Ethiopia and South Africa. Yes we are having a real time adjusting to the COLD here........but many of the birds we missed while we were away are greeting us here in late Feb. So a few pics of our local friends.....and one of a special bird in South Africa.

10/29 Reminder - NO CLASS

As on your original class schedule, we do NOT have a class tomorrow because of my other commitments.

That does not stop you from birding on your own. Couple birds recently seen and photographed in our backyard are attached.

Homework: ID these birds.

Best,
Bill

Snowy Owls in DE, and one north of IR Inlet

Sally and I got to see one of 2 or more near Indian River Inlet this past Monday, 12/2/13. Directions, thanks to Anthony Gonzon, are to park at the Savages Ditch parking lot on the west side of Rt 1 about 2 miles before the Indian River Inlet bridge. Then carefully cross Rt 1 to the surf fishing access road, and walk it to the beach. One owl has been just north of there, and we saw it very well this past Monday. A really neat bird that only gets this far south every 5 years or more.

For the Molly Murray's article in DE online.

Directions to Redden State Forrest for April 24

I have attached a Google Maps link to guide you there (and you can zoom in or out on this link). If you are "map challenged",  just go to Georgetown, bear north to connect with Rt 113, go north on 113 for about 3+ miles and turn right on Redden Rd. Go less than 1 mile and turn right into Redden State Forrest (well marked). Proceed about 1/4 mile to the main office and parking.

We will all go back toward Lewes via some of the neat back roads, so you can experience them first hand. If you are map savvy, come over via the back roads as well. If you get lost, just keep heading west until you reach Rt 113, and then use the above directions (adjusting for how far north or south on 113 you are). Still lost? Call my cell: 302-236-5675.

Bill

PS - My apologies for having to leave Prime Hook quickly today. As we got back to the Headquarters,  I was reminded by Sally that she had a noon lunch engagement in Rehoboth, so we had to leave promptly. I will give you our backyard Screech Owl details at Redden. I could post it here, but in general, making owl locations too public is not advisable, as the information often gets the owls harassed by too close approaches, photographers, etc.

South West Florida Birding

The Burrowing Owl pic in last blog post was taken on Marco Island, Florida. Marco is the northern most of the Ten Thousand Islands, which are part of the Everglades. To me, one of the most noteworthy things about birding in Florida, is how confiding most of the birds are. A few examples of this, from top to bottom: Barred Owl, Black Skimmer, Anhinga and Green Heron, all taken with a Nikon 70-300 mm lens, and cropped very little, if at all.

In the next post, I will summarize locations Sally and I have birded on one day trips from Marco Island.

Guess where I am

The Visual Meaning of Raptor

Raptor, comes from Latin "to grasp". Watch this video as if you are a little mouse.....or even a big rat. Be sure to click on the full screen icon for max effect.