An EASTERN SCREECH-OWL exited the nest box in our yard in northeast Ithaca at 5:48 PM on Sunday evening. The owl buzzed with rapid wingbeats straight to a bare willow bough, then perched, completely exposed, for a couple of minutes. This must have been my first decent look at the back and tail of this species. Then the owl flew into a nearby pine tree and disappeared in the shadows.
This owl has roosted in the yard every day since Wednesday, but before then, I hadn't seen any owl for about three weeks. During this current string of roosting days, the owl has been in view quite a lot (not only for us who live here, but also for my mom, sister, and brother - life bird for him). This ready visibility stands in contrast to our December string of near-daily but momentary sightings only right at dawn. My brother and I also saw some SNOW BUNTINGS and Horned Larks along Lake Ridge Road in King Ferry on Saturday afternoon. Mark Chao -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
