I saw the rare bird alert and couldn't believe it. A Long-eared Owl had been spotted less than an hour ago and only 15 minutes away. I know they can winter in this area, but they like to roost in dense vegetation and are difficult to spot. A few weeks ago, I had missed the one in Edinburg, TX by only one day. I grabbed my binoculars and I was out the door! When I arrived at Clapp Park, my heart sank. They were mowing. Worse yet, they were mowing under the stand of trees where the owl had been reported. It has not rained here since October 2017 and not even weeds have managed to grow. I decided to progress towards the trees anyway. I did my best to search, but I had never seen a Long-eared Owl before. The last owl I saw roosting in a tree was perched at eye height right in front of me, surrounded by people, and I still had to ask where it was! I walked through the stand, searching, but couldn't find it. I was circling the perimeter, getting ready to call it quits, when I glanced up and froze. Could those be ear tufts? I couldn't even be certain that it was the owl without raising my binoculars...and there it was. I couldn't believe it! It was beautiful! I didn't want to move but it was on high alert and I felt like I was too close. I slowly backed up as far as I could, and then I stayed still and quiet. It continued to watch me, but it finally started to blink. I figured it was relaxing a little. It swung its head around to look behind it, I looked down for a second, heard wings, and it was gone. Sigh. I had really tried NOT to flush it, but given that the mower had clearly just been in the area where I was standing, I'm sure the owl was unhappy already. I saw it fly to the left, so I turned to the right and walked quietly back towards the road. Something made me look up and I couldn't believe it! There was the owl again! A grackle called nearby and it jumped. Ok, I thought, how can I back away without flushing it? Trick question! I looked to my right to find my way out and heard wings again. Double sigh. I cannot express just how slowly I had been moving. This time I saw more than the general direction in which it flew, I saw where it landed. I could drop to my knee and still get a good view even though it was now on the other side of the trees, at least 30-40 feet away. I watched it for few seconds and looked away again (you would think I would have learned by now). Ready to guess what happened next? It was too far for me to hear its wings, but I looked back again and surprise! It was gone. I had no idea which way it had flown this time, I just knew it hadn't flown by me. I felt crazy guilty. Still do, really. I hope it was finally able to get some rest, although it was so skittish, I doubt it. On the up side, it was reported in the same area the next afternoon, so it must not have felt too threatened. If it had, I would hope that it would have found a new roost the next day.
4 Comments
Taylor
4/27/2019 08:27:15 pm
We live in Lubbock and spotted the long eared owl in our back yard this evening. What an amazing animal. The blue jays with a nest in the tree kept trying to scare it off but it just sat there intently watching us. IMG_6389.jpeg
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Jennifer
5/20/2019 11:16:30 am
Hi Taylor,
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8/20/2022 07:59:32 am
This is the cutest owl, the long ears made him look like a rabbit.
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FoundNatureBlog Owner
8/21/2022 01:10:47 pm
Isn't it?! That's a great observation, it does make him look like a rabbit! Thanks for commenting!
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