BS: Today....

Subject: BS: Today....
From: Raptor
Date: 28 Jan 06 - 05:19 PM

I ended a Perfect day by sighting a Snowy Owl!

Raptor

Subject: RE: BS: Today....
From: Peace
Date: 28 Jan 06 - 05:20 PM

They are beautiful, aren't they? Wow.

Subject: RE: BS: Today....
From: Joybell
Date: 28 Jan 06 - 05:35 PM

Wow! I'll find a picture.
We have some wonderful owls too. I can talk to the Boobooks. They'll answer anyone who sounds even a bit like them. Cheers, Joy

Subject: RE: BS: Today....
From: Joe Offer
Date: 28 Jan 06 - 06:23 PM

I've seen a Snowy Owl only once - many years ago, on the television antenna of the house across the street from us in Wisconsin. It's a sight I'll never forget, like the first time I ever saw a Bald Eagle, swooping down over my canoe on the Wolf River in Northern Wisconsin.

I have to say my first (and only) California Condor was a disappointment. There it was, one of the biggest birds in the world, sitting on the same damn branch for an hour and never giving me a chance to see its magnificent wingspread.

-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: BS: Today....
From: Peace
Date: 28 Jan 06 - 06:29 PM

The condor is BID and beautiful in flight and different looking.

Subject: RE: BS: Today....
From: Ron Davies
Date: 28 Jan 06 - 06:38 PM

Raptor--where is your habitat?

Subject: RE: BS: Today....
From: Peace
Date: 28 Jan 06 - 06:45 PM

This is neat and something I didn't know until just now:

"Ear flaps of owls are very different - one ear flap is higher than the other, and the ear openings are shaped differently. Any given sound is different in each ear, so the owl can "focus" the sound by moving its head until the sound is the same in both ears. Then the thing making the sound is right in front of the owl.

Any owl's sense of hearing is much better than a human's. The facial discs (the ring of special feathers around each side of the face) appear to be around the eyes, but are actually around the ears which are right behind the eyes. Each ear is a different shape from the other and in a different position on the skull. That, coupled with the "fence" of feathers down the center of the face over the beak, makes sound reception different in each ear, and the owl can skillfully focus the sound and pin-point its location exactly. Flying at the sound with feet outstretched in front of its face allows the owl to strike its target even in total darkness."

from

www.chaffeezoo.org/animals/snowyOwl.html

Subject: RE: BS: Today....
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 29 Jan 06 - 09:57 AM

UK's most common owl is the 'teat' always a treat to see.

Subject: RE: BS: Today....
From: Beer
Date: 29 Jan 06 - 10:19 AM

That is amazing Peace. I have been fortunate for about 6 seasons to follow a pair of Snowy's that visit our area each winter. This is the first winter that I haven't seen them. We haven't had much of a winter so I guess that may be the answer.

Subject: RE: BS: Today....
From: fat B****rd
Date: 29 Jan 06 - 10:22 AM

I buy my wife a yerly sponsorship for a Scopes Owl called Cobweb who lives at the Falconry Centre at Kirby Wiske (North Yorkshire) we go and see him and all the other birds as often as possible.
Nice snaps, Bruce.

Subject: RE: BS: Today....
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 29 Jan 06 - 10:30 AM

theres an owl song on my website
http://bigalwhittle.co.uk/id8.html

Subject: RE: BS: Today....
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 29 Jan 06 - 10:32 AM

What sort of owl is a ' teat ' then Georgiansilver ? most common where I live are tawnys, in late summer it gets quite deaffening in the late evening, they sometimes perch in the trees at the bottom of my garden.

eric

Subject: RE: BS: Today....
From: Raptor
Date: 29 Jan 06 - 10:36 AM

I live in the country. 1 hour north of Toronto and 10 Min away from the city of Barrie in Ontario Canada

Raptor

Subject: RE: BS: Today....
From: gnu
Date: 29 Jan 06 - 12:29 PM

Some beautiful part of the world, Raptor. I lived in CFB Trenton for six years. I was a wee lad, but I remember the countryside.

Subject: RE: BS: Today....
From: Ebbie
Date: 29 Jan 06 - 03:29 PM

Today I saw a flock of 8 or 9 Varied Thrushes. The VT is our earliest spring bird - it sings a lovely single note - but what is it doing in Juneau, Alaska in January? Some of our mountain ash trees still have berries on them - that's where the birds were - but there is nothing growing. Besides, everything on the ground is covered with two feet of snow.

Subject: RE: BS: Today....
From: Joybell
Date: 29 Jan 06 - 04:24 PM

I came face to face with a Powerful Owl once. Not as beautiful as your Snowy Owl Raptor, but impressive. He/she was perched on a branch that was about three feet from me as I sat on a rocky perch near the peak of our small mountain. We were on a level as the track is quite steep. Powerful owls are usually pictured with a ringtail possum in one hand - often a headless one. They sleep like that with their breakfast at the ready. Mine was just like that. Had it seen the bird books? They eat one possum a night.
Cheers, Joy

Subject: RE: BS: Today....
From: Raptor
Date: 29 Jan 06 - 11:09 PM

Today I ended the day with a concussion I recieved practicing Kayak rolling When I didn't come up quick enough someone brought thier kayak up to mine to do a t-bone rescue unbeknownst to me I bashed my noggin good on hid boat and had to bail upside down but took water before I surfaced. It wasn't fun. But o'm ok now.

This morning I saw the Snowy Owl again and will get some good photos soon.

Where are you now Gnu?

If anyone close to me wants to stop by for a weekend of Skiing/Guitar playing that can be arranged

Depending on the time of year there is great birding in my area too

Raptor

Subject: RE: BS: Today....
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 30 Jan 06 - 11:19 AM

Today I had to clear cat poop from the doormat I spent ages scrubbing on Saturday..... no sooner was it clean and we're about to step out the door, than Limpit threw up on it... it's just been one of those days.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Today....
From: Janie
Date: 30 Jan 06 - 11:53 AM

I don't know what it was doing so far south, but years ago, my mother and I were scared silly by a snowy owl. It was night, there was a big thunderstorm raging and the power had been out for quite some time. Mom and I had stumbled into the kitchen by candlelight and were standing in front of the sink when a bright flash of lightning lit up this big white owl on the outside ledge of the window. In spite of our startled shrieks, it stayed put and we watched it through several flashes of lightning.

Janie

Subject: RE: BS: Today....
From: Ebbie
Date: 30 Jan 06 - 12:49 PM

Joybell, your story of the close but distant owl reminds me of a similar event I had. In wilderness forest I had just clambered on top of a fallen tree (officially, before it blew over, it had been the #2 largest Douglas Fir in the Pacific Northwest, so it was a BIG log). As I parted the branches to see out, a coyote (I assume it was a coyote- it was definitely not a fox) was at eye level across the deep gully on anther log. He was not as close as your owl was but he was close enough that I could practically see the color of his eyes.

He was cleaning himself when I first saw him and froze when he saw my movement. I froze too - standing on one foot - and I outlasted him. After a couple of minutes he resumed his preening and I got to watch him until he finished and in a leisurely fashion trotted to the end of his log and jumped off.

After I quit smoking I had many encounters of this kind. In the past I would never have had the patience to stand still doing nothing. For that matter, wildlife would have smelled me long before I got to them!

Subject: RE: BS: Today....
From: TheBigPinkLad
Date: 30 Jan 06 - 12:50 PM

I saw my first Barn Owl about three in the morning while walking home from a nightclub pissed in 1972. I had missed the last bus, taxis had all gone home and I was at mile 6 of 8 in a pair of platform soles ... my feet were singing Annie Laurie. But I would not have missed it for the world. Its silent drift across the road in front of me was etherial.

Did you know that the classic owl sound is actually a duet? One owls says 'too-whit' and its the other that answers 'too-whoo.'

Subject: RE: BS: Today....
From: Raptor
Date: 30 Jan 06 - 12:51 PM

Janie thats kind of Harry Poterish.

Spooky

Raptor

Subject: RE: BS: Today....
From: GUEST,petr
Date: 30 Jan 06 - 12:58 PM

a few months ago as I drove the Richmond connector (a highway near Vancouver) to deliver something to a customer. It was a typical overcast day, and I was caught up in the busy traffic and thinking about work deadlines etc.. I happened to look to the left just off the highway and saw a pair of bald eagles come together in the air, grasp their talons and plummet down in a spiral.
THey were maybe 100-150 feet up when they started and fell only for a second or two. Just as it looked as if they would smash into the ground, (maybe 10 feet above) they split off into two directions.

Needless to say I was amazed, and easily would have missed it.
and felt so lucky to have witnessed it. I looked around at the rest of the traffic and everyone seemed to be on their cell phones and oblivious. Certainly it made my day and and ranks right up there with seeing grey whales while kayaking at Clayoquot sound.
And it made me stop and think of so much more that is around us.

Eagles and other raptors I believe do this when mating, Ive seen it on the occasional nature show but never in person. It was a privilege.

Subject: RE: BS: Today....
From: fat B****rd
Date: 30 Jan 06 - 03:21 PM

Years ago I was staying with friends near New Bolingbroke in Licolnshire (UK) I borowwd my hosts Racing bike and set off. As I pedalled down a "country lane " an owl flew at me and nearly had me off the bike. It was gone in a second but I believe it was fawn in colour. Quite frankly I was S..t scared.

Subject: RE: BS: Today....
From: Peace
Date: 30 Jan 06 - 03:28 PM

Many many years ago I was leading a canoe trip on the Susquehanna River. We'd come to a particularly strange stretch: bot banks of the river for about a hundred yards had dead, leafless trees on both banks. The river was about 100' wide at that point. Anyway, on one side of the river on the tree limbs were approximately eighty crows. On the other side on the tree limbs were a dozen owls. Man, that was eerie. Remined me of my youth when gangs would cluster and wait until something happened to start the fight. I have no idea to this days what was up. I got us outta there pdq. Someone on Mudcat about two (?) years back said that crows and owls do not get along. I can well believe that.

Subject: RE: BS: Today....
From: Raptor
Date: 30 Jan 06 - 04:21 PM

Owls well that ends well!

Raptor

Subject: RE: BS: Today....
From: Janie
Date: 30 Jan 06 - 05:06 PM

Owls just seem to invite awesome (owlsome?) encounters.

A Barred Owl once clipped the roof of my car and broke its wing. A local Wildlife officer turned out at 1:00 in the morning to meet us and take it to a rehabilitation expert.

Barn Owls, Barred Owls and Screech owls are all frequent visitors to our house, probably because we have large populations of gray squirrels and cotton-tail rabbits. We have a narrow, dark driveway, bordered on one side by the house, and on the other by an equally narrow but dense stand of mixed and overgrown small trees, large shrubs, honeysuckle and bird-grape vines. On two different occasions, owls have swooped over my head so near that I felt the 'whoosh' of their wind of passage. And of course, they are so silent in their flight that I was completely startled. (Bet they were also!)

Janie

Subject: RE: BS: Today....
From: Bizibod
Date: 30 Jan 06 - 05:55 PM

Ohhhhh Eric , you've been had ! (Say it out loud ....yep, you've got it !)