BC Fairgrounds 2/28--Short-eared Owl

This weekend started with rain ending at midmorning and ended with rain beginning midmorning. In between I birded Burlco where my last stop of the two days provided the most pleasant surprise of a Short-eared Owl teed up in perfect sight. I wasn't having much luck with the rare geese reported the last couple of days--the problem with a lot of Burlco roads is no shoulders to safely park and scan--but since I was near the Fairgrounds I figured I'd look for the ever-present Rough-legged Hawk. As my car was rolling to a halt I saw a big bird perched on a post toward the back of the mowed field. Could that be the hawk, so easy? Quick bin look confirmed not. Once I got it in my scope and saw it was a shortie, I scrambled for my camera and managed one terrible shot before the owl flew back into the high grass, just as my friend Dave was pulling up. "Ooo, you just missed it." He, however, having found a Ross's Goose among the thousands of Snow Geese on Juliustown Road, took the disappointment with aplomb. 

The Fairgrounds are extremely reliable for Short-eared Owl; however, most of the time you have to be there just after dusk when they start to hunt and it's always a race to find one before the ranger comes round to shoo you out so they can lock the gates. Today was, just before the rain hit heavy, were perfect conditions for diurnal viewing: overcast and calm. They'll hunt in that weather, competing with the Northern Harriers of which I only saw two, in my short visit. Oh, and I did eventually see the Rough-legged Hawk, come out from the fields, fly over the parking lot and perch in a tree across the road. 

While they weren't year birds, the notable bird I found yesterday were 2 drake Redheads (there were actually 3 as those with more patience found a hen) at Whitesbog yesterday where I had scooted after the rain ended. While I knew they were a new species for me at Whitesbog, I wasn't sure if my parochial interest in what's rare at Whitesbog translated into county-wide interest, so after some consultation with one who knows the county way better than me, I put out an alert. Apparently it was of widespread interest, especially for those doing county big years, because within the hour the Middle Bog was surrounded by birders, scanning through the hundred or so Ring-necked Ducks. Everyone got on them. I hate to put an alert out for birds that up and fly.

They were there this morning again when I met Jim out on the bogs and we walked a good 4 or 5 miles around the bogs. So despite the warnings of the weekend being a washout, I did quite well, it being especially satisfying to find birds you're not expecting. While it is fun to go to a spot where you know a bird should be and find that bird, it is even more fun to got somewhere and find what does not often occur. It's the difference between getting a present on your birthday and getting a present on a random day in your life.