Male Short-eared Owl is on a Hunt - II.

 

In a previous post I wrote that my first encounter with the male Short-eared Owl ended very fast, he took off and flew away but fortunately not so far.

The Owl is alert and tracks with his eyes the sound to lock onto a prey.

 

The Owl strikes towards his prey keeping his head straight and thrusting his sharp claws forward.  The razor sharp claws and the owl's sharp beak quickly pierce the mouse and kill it. 

  

The Owl is holding the dead mouse.   

At this moment I lost track of what happened next.  The Owl with a mouse in his beak disappeared in the grass and then he reappeared again but without mouse. My guess is that he swallowed it whole.

After his meal the Owl finally graced me with his attention but for a very short time and flew away in search of another prey.

Generally, life is good!

Male Short-eared Owl is on a Hunt - I.

 

Short-eared Owls are year around residents in Northern Utah but they are nomadic birds and not seen often. When the prey becomes scarce the Short-eared Owls move to a new location. 

Usually, I see Owls perching on the sign posts but yesterday in the late afternoon I noticed something unusual in the grass and to my surprise it was the male Short-eared Owl.  While preparing to photograph him I silently was asking the Owl, please, please stay where you are just for a few seconds, don't fly away.

All Owls have hearing so sharp that they can hear a mouse moving on the ground.  Owls use their eyes to hear.  Those large, round structures around owl eyes are able to catch sound waves.

The Owl turns its head to hear better.  Owls often do this.

At some point the Owl decided to leave this spot and took off.  I was sure that my encounter with this bird was over but the Owl didn't fly far away and I had another opportunity to watch and photograph this amazing bird.

Generally, life is good!

Short-eared Owl Who Likes to Play a Game

On my way to Bear River I am always looking for the same Short Eared Owl that usually perches on the different sign posts. That particular morning the Owl decided to go into advertising and chose an appropriate sing post.  

Usually advertising lasts only a few minutes and ends up with a game the Owl likes to play.  At the beginning of game he usually flies away.  I am turning my car around and drive back for a mile and a half looking for him and scanning every sing post.

 

The moment I am giving up on looking for Owl is a very important moment.  The Owl may return back to the same spot where I saw him before or the Owl will fly to a different marsh.  On the photo above the Owl returned back choosing this time a poll for perching.

 

 

Short-eared Owl During Sunrise

Owls are nocturnal birds but Short-eared Owls are often active during sunrise, early mornings and evenings. The Owl I met this early morning might be the one I saw before because it was again close to the road and on the same sign.

The Owl was sitting on the National Wild Refuge sign as if she was advertising it.

The Owl is ready to take off.  It's interesting that birds before taking off during sunrise often are heading East toward the rising sun.

Taking off. The wings are down. Looks a little bit funny like a giant moth.

The Short-eared Owls do have ears but they are invisible. 

Short-eared Owl

I almost missed this Short Eared Owl who was sitting on a pole by the road. I was so excited that stopped my car abruptly and that was a major mistake. The Owl gave me one quick look and was gone. 

Luckily, it didn't flew far away and I got this shot.  It's not what I was hoping to get but it's better than nothing.

I was replaying the situation with Owl over and over again for a few days. Being overly excited isn't very helpful. Staying calm is. You certainly can make better decisions.