Short-eared Owl off Lighthouse Point
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9 November 2022 - Scoping off Lighthouse Point I watched a Peregrine Falcon fly out to sea and begin harrying what looked like another raptor. After some dive-bombing drama the second bird turned and flew toward the Point, and as it got closer I could see it was a Short-eared Owl. (The "flappy" flight was the first clue, then I could see the rounded wings, blunt head and finally the dark carpals.) The Peregrine eventually returned to the beach, at which point the Owl reversed course and flew back out to sea, eventually disappearing into the low clouds offshore. Seems like very odd behavior for an Owl, but then, Short-eared are rather odd Owls. If you find yourself near an open grassy or brushy meadow at
dusk, watch for that characteristic flight habit. Sometimes
described as "moth-like," Short-eared Owls fly with deep,
exaggerated up-and-down wingbeats. They flap-and-glide low over
fields, much like Harriers, but those wingbeats really set them
apart.
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Jim Havlena
Another piece of information regarding
Short-eared Owls is that clapping loudly in a brushy habitat can
cause them to lift up from the brush and then drop back down.
I've done this numerous times in the Carrizo Plan in eastern San
Luis Obispo county (during CBCs).
Jim Havlena On 11/9/2022 4:46 PM, Tim Bray wrote:
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