We've known there were Long-eared owls in Idaho, a bird neither of us had ever seen before. We were watching Ebird reports pop up all over the place. But every time we went to a place with a reported sighting, we struck out. Over and Over.
So when we went to Silver Creek Preserve, we expected no different. There was even a note in the log book that a LEO was spotted the day before. Didn't blink an eye.
Lo and behold, we were walking around a bend and a Long-eared Owl was sitting on a post not ten feet from us. In plain sight, just waiting for us to see it. We were floored. Shocked, and struck dumb. I grabbed Andrew's arm to stop him and as he swung the camera up to take a picture, the owl decided we'd seen enough and flew off.
Its mate was sitting nicely up in the nest just a few feet off the trail though, so we got some pictures of that one.
The rest of our two mile walk, we were just in awe. In awe of seeing an owl that close to us, alert and aware at one in the afternoon. It just seemed to be waiting for our arrival. It is a bird sighting I will never forget.
No comments:
Post a Comment