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Re: Snowy Owl



Mike,

Last night, the owl was first seen on the ground (in the road again) by the
person who called me.  Before I arrived, it flew onto a relatively isolated,
low limb (ten or twelve feet hight) in a pine tree which was in a small
copse of trees south of and on the same side of the street as the office for
Foxcroft.  It was there when I arrived and stayed there for a few minutes as
three of us watched it and the young lady took a flash picture.  The young
lady was reluctant to take a flash picture feeling as if the flash would
frighten the bird but I encouraged her to do so and it did not seem to alarm
the owl.  Three or four minutes later, it flew across the street almost
directly opposite the office (to the same side of the street where Melanie
Court is located) to another limb, very close to the edge of the street, low
in the tree and stayed there a couple of minutes when it then flew to the
ground, actually to the middle of the street where it stayed for a couple of
minutes.  It then flew south to a small copse of trees in the immediate
vicinity of the cardboard recycling containers in Melanie Court.  Two people
followed it while I drove my car.  When I got to the place it was perched,
it flew further south and in the darkness, I lost it.  I believe it flew
away from this last perch as I saw something out of the corner of my eye
which may have been the final observed flight last night.

You asked and stated, ">Did the owl fly INTO the tree, one or group of
threes? That would be extraordinary for Snowy Owl,"  I'm not sure of the
meaning of that question and the significance thereof.  Perhaps you could
clear that up for me.  In other words, how would the bird get from the
ground to a tree unless he flew into it.  I understand the question if you
mean did he have room enough for his size to fly into a thicket of branches.

I too hope the photograph is good enough to positively identify it.

Thanks for your help, Jerry

-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Skakuj <mskakuj@nc.rr.com>
To: CarolinaBirds <carolinabirds@duke.edu>
Date: Friday, February 08, 2002 5:45 AM
Subject: Re: Snowy Owl


>Hi,
>
>Did the owl fly INTO the tree, one or group of threes? That would be
>extraordinary for Snowy Owl, but birds do strange things if they are "not
at
>home".
>
>Mike
>
>Jerry Partrick wrote:
>
>> Dear listmembers,
>>
>> I saw the Owl again tonight.
>>
>> About eleven forty-five PM, a nice young lady who read one of my notices
>> asking for sightings of a large white owl called me.  She had seen the
bird,
>> again in the middle of the street in Foxcroft.  It flew to a low limb and
>> she went in and called me and got her camera and I met her in the parking
>> lot (with my daughter accompanying me).  She showed me the owl which was
>> sitting on a low limb.  She photographed it with a flash and a normal
lens.
>> The owl flew a short distance away to a tree, then flew and lit in the
>> middle of the street, thence to a limb then flew again... and we lost it
at
>> that point.  I imagine the total time I was in sight of the owl was about
>> ten minutes.  My views of it were not as clear as they were on Sunday
night
>> but even in the low light level, the reporting would be the same.  There
>> were no ear tufts....  I did not see it's eyes.
>>
>> The location was in Foxcroft, in Melanie Court... across the street and a
>> little up (toward Franklin St.) from the office in Foxcroft.
>>
>> Hope someone else sees it... also hope the photo is exposed enough to be
>> able to positively identify it.  She used a flash and the flash itself
never
>> phased the owl.
>>
>> Regards,  Jerry
>
>--
>************************************************
>Michal Skakuj  Ph.D.
>4600 University Drive # 1312
>Durham, NC 27707
>phone, fax: (919) 402 9961
>
>
>
>