I've Done A Lot Of Birding The Past Couple Months And Not A Lot Of Posting, So I'm Going Back To Our

owls from animal crossing new horizons

-bella

Folks, I have tracked down another Owl!

[ID: A Short-eared Owl sits on top of a wooden post at dusk. They stand about a foot tall, with rounded body and head, oval face, and no visible ear tufts. Their feathers are a lovely pattern of brown, tan, and cream, with white and tan face feathers radiating from a hooked black beak. They are staring directly into the camera with two large honey-colored eyes, rimmed in black feathers reminiscent of smoky eyeliner. End ID]

It was just about dusk at Goose Pond, and we were slowly driving down a road to the north of the pond, scanning the power poles and fields in the failing light. I'm driving, and I've got my friend in the passenger seat, the person who first got me into birding. I had seen reports of a pair of Short-eared Owls in the area, our last target bird on an afternoon of exploring Madison's lakes and fields. I had read that, unlike other Owls, Short-eared are known for coming out to hunt before sunset. She says there's something just over the horizon out her window, so I stop and we both get binoculars on it. I say, "It's owl-shaped! That has to be it!"

[ID: The Short-eared Owl sits on the same wooden post, looking left into the sunset. Just one eye is visible in profile, illuminated by the fading horizon. End ID]

The Owl is heading back the way we came, and I take just a single burst with the camera before swinging the car around. Then my friend sees a second one following it! One of them must have seen something because it lands in the field, while the other one heads off over the horizon. Once I have the car pointing the right direction, the first Owl takes off again and lands on the nest box in the pictures.

[ID: The Short-eared Owl sits on the same post and stares intently at the ground. Perhaps they see something to pounce on? End ID]

The next box is right by the road, so we start creeping up close. The Owl seems totally unbothered by our presence and just sits, patiently scanning the field. We creep closer, get a few more pictures, creep closer, get a few more, until we're like 25 yards away. By then we're close enough that the ID is unmistakable. Look at that makeup!

[The Short-eared Owl flies into the distance, headed away from the camera. Their wings are outstretched, gently riding the wind as they scan the field below for prey. End ID]

The Owl probably sat on the nest box for 15 minutes or more. Meanwhile, some other birders have pulled up behind us, clearly here to do the same thing. Not long after they show up, the Owl takes off again! This time we get to see them hunting up close. They clearly spotted something and dove down to catch it. I am not sure if they were successful, but they took off after a few minutes and continued flying lazily around the field, looking for more snacks. We stayed to watch the hunt until the sun had sunk below the horizon and the light began to fail, then made our way back down the road toward home. Hope you catch your fill, little friend!

[ID: The Short-eared Owl flies low over the field, with the sunset lighting up their silhouette from behind. They are a small figure in the lower third of the shot, with a background of brown grasses, evergreen trees, and blazing orange sky above. End ID]

[image id: a four-page comic. it is titled “do not stand at my grave and weep” after the poem by mary elizabeth frye. the first page shows paleontologists digging up fossils at a dig. it reads, “do not stand at my grave and weep. i am not there. i do not sleep.” page two features several prehistoric creatures living in the wild. not featured but notable, each have modern descendants: horses, cetaceans, horsetail plants, and crocodilians. it reads, “i am a thousand winds that blow. i am the diamond glints on snow. i am the sunlight on ripened grain. i am the gentle autumn rain.” the third page shows archaeopteryx in the treetops and the skies, then a modern museum-goer reading the placard on a fossil display. it reads, “when you awaken in the morning’s hush, i am the swift uplifting rush, of quiet birds in circled flight. i am the soft stars that shine at night. do not stand at my grave and cry.” the fourth page shows a chicken in a field. it reads, “i am not there. i did not die” / end id]

a comic i made in about 15 hours for my school’s comic anthology. the theme was “evolution”

I took this photo back in May during the Horicon Marsh Bird Festival. Spring migration was just kicking into high gear, and lots of different species were moving through, establishing territory, starting nests.

One of the paths we were walking was completely taken over by Tree Swallows, claiming every available nest box. This lovely lady must have already claimed the nest box nearby because she refused to move from her perch as we passed. She gave me a nice long look from about 10 feet away, still probably the sharpest photo I've taken of a Swallow.

[ID: A female Tree Swallow sits on a bare branch. She has a white body and throat, with dark gray head and wings. There are small flecks of blue on her forehead above a jet black beak and shiny black eyes. She clings tightly to the branch with pinkish feet, seemingly unafraid of the people nearby. End ID]

Back in May of 2022, we were out at the UW Madison Arboretum looking for Warblers. We came across a couple of older folks with binoculars staring intently into the trees, so I thought for sure they found a good one. But no! Turns out they had spotted this little guy.

[ID: A juvenile Barred Owl sleeps in the shade of a tree. It's mostly brown and fuzzy, with grey marks throughout and a browner "mask" around the eyes and beak. It's sitting on a large branch with a pair of slanted tree trunks on either side, and a few young green leaves framing the scene. End ID]

This is a baby Barred Owl, having a little snooze in the shade. They woke up briefly to look around and check us out, but they seemed perfectly content to sit in full view from the path as people jogged by and stopped to peek at them.

We have family that live out in the woods in Walworth County, WI. It's always a treat to visit them, both for the company and the abundance of wild forest birds that visit their feeders. Their house is my one reliable place to see Tufted Titmice around here, so I had to bring my camera.

[ID: A Tufted Titmouse clings to a thin branch. It's mostly gray with white underparts, black bill, a black patch around the bill, and large black eyes. It has hints of orange under each wing and a small crest of top of its head. End ID]

The Titmice were very active at the feeder that day, but they're a tricky subject to catch. They will only perch for a second or two before seizing their moment to grab a seed at the feeder and fly off to eat it in private. So I had to keep my camera at the ready and pointed at one of their favorite landing spots to catch just a handful of frames.

[ID: An American Tree Sparrow sits on the branch of a small tree. It has streaky brown wings with two white wing bars, streaks of tan on the underparts, and a brown eye line and reddish brown cap. It has the characteristic two-tone bill for American Tree Sparrows: dark grey upper bill, yellow lower bill. End ID]

Of course, I had to grab a selection of shots for the other visitors while I was there. This American Tree Sparrow was also a first-of-year for me, seemingly the only one hanging out with the flock of Titmice, Juncos, and Chickadees.

[ID: A Black-capped Chickadee sits on a bare branch. It has grey wings and tail, with white underparts blending to cream under the wings. It has a dark black cap and throat encapsulating the tiny black beak and bright white cheek patches. End ID]

The Black-capped Chickadees were either a lot more numerous or bolder than the other birds visiting the feeders, with one or two grabbing seeds at any given moment and at least three or four others hanging out in the trees nearby looking for an opening.

[ID: A Dark-eyed Junco checks the grass near a brick walkway for food. It's likely a male from the dark grey body and head, with white underparts and tiny hints of brown in the back and wing feathers. The general dark plumage and black eye contrast with the pale pink beak. End ID]

And the Dark-eyed Juncos were happy to mostly forage on the ground in clusters near each feeder. This one in particular got quite a bit closer than the others, giving me a chance to capture a higher level of detail.

Our summer vacation for 2022 was a road trip through the Dakotas, with brief dips into Montana and Wyoming. I was impossibly excited for the trip, as it was the first time since I started birding that we'd be seeing birds of the Western United States. Even better, it was right at the start of nesting season in June. Every stop held the possibility of a lifer, including this beauty.

[ID: A female Mountain Bluebird clings to a bare branch on a small shrub, standing in profile. Her body and head are subtle variations of whites and greys. She has a bright white eye ring, black bill and feet, and thin black lines bordering hints of brilliant blue in her wingtips and tail. The background is the out-of-focus greens and browns of a prairie dog town. End ID]

This is a female Mountain Bluebird. We found her while exploring one of the prairie dog towns in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Every variety of North American bluebird is lovely, but I remember being struck by the subtle variation of whites and greys and barest hints of brilliant blue in her wingtips and tail. I hadn't seen anything like her in my explorations to that point, so I knew I was seeing the species for the first time. It's always special when you encounter a new species and they seem to be checking you out just as closely as you're scrutinizing them.

You ever see a Pileated Woodpecker on the ground? Me neither, but this guy was about as close as he could get to it.

[ID: A Pileated Woodpecker sits on a rotting log. It's the largest species of Woodpecker in Wisconsin, almost as large as a crow. They are over a foot long and have a wingspan of more than two feet. They are almost all black on the body, tail, and wings, with black and white striping lengthwise along the neck and face. Both males and females have a large red crest that sweeps back off the top of the head. Males like this one have a red "mustache" stripe on either side of the mouth, while females have a black stripe there. This one is looking off to the right, allowing for a good view of his pointy beak, almost as long as the rest of his head. End ID]

I was wandering Bill's Woods at the UW Lakeshore Nature Preserve with my family this past August when I spotted this enormous creature. He was digging around in a dead fall about 20 feet from the path, clearly looking for delicious bugs. He was not bothered by my excited whisper of "Pileated!!" to alert my partner and child, and kept at his digging for a minute while I adjusted my camera for the very shady scene.

[ID: The Pileated Woodpecker continues to dig around in an open cavity in the dead fall. In this photo he is facing away from the camera and has momentarily lifted his head to look around. End ID]

My kid was not impressed and continued down the path, allowing his mother only a brief look before she too had to move on to keep him in sight. The Pileated then flew to the base of a large tree to pick around a bit more. Finding nothing of interest, he decided to cross the path, flying about 5 feet above my head!

[ID: The Pileated Woodpecker clings to the base of a large tree. This photo offers a better look at his unusual feet, with two toes pointing forward and two pointing backward. This adaptation helps the bird more easily grab onto to the sides of trees and hop from place to place, using his stiff tail as the third "leg"of the tripod. End ID]

I have a funny relationship with these skittish birds. It seems like they almost never want to show themselves, preferring to call and drum from thick woods. But then they pick the oddest times to show up and act as though us humans are just part of the scenery.