Dave is correct in his assumption that the area where he found the Snowy Owl is Pawnee National Grassland property. Both sides (east and west for one mile) of WCR 49 between WCR 108 and what would be WCR 110 (if such a road existed) are in the national grassland. The sections east and south of the mile square section where the owl was located are private land. In other words, you can walk a mile East (or West) of WCR 49 at that point and still be on government property. This should not be construed as permission to harass or pursue the Snowy Owl. Our experience with the Wellington Short-eared Owls (which have been around since at least December) is similar to Dave's. The birds typically start flying 10 minutes before it gets too dark to see them. Congratulations to Dave on his fine find! Doug Kibbe Littleton
From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: [cobirds] Snowy Owl, Pawnee Grasslands (Weld) on 2/13 Date: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:08:44 -0700 Thanks to Rachel, Tony, and Cade for getting the word out about the Snowy Owl today on the Pawnee Grasslands. Roughly, the location of the bird is about 5-6 miles northwest of Norma's Grove (CR100 jct. CR57). Precisely, it is 75 yards east of Weld CR49 about 0.6 miles north of CR108. If it stays at this location, at the point where you would park on CR49 to look east, there is a Sprint Fiber Optic Cable post on the west side of CR49. This 5 foot-tall post is cream-colored with a big orange sticker that warns about digging on its east side, and it has a black cap. The bird is an immature and appears white-faced with a darker body. It seemed very alert and initially was flushed from an area about 10 yards from the road. It flew a short distance straight east and perched on a modest ridge for the half hour I observed it. I believe the ownership at this point is Pawnee National Grassland (there are no fences that I remember). Maybe someone could check this and post the answer (I can't find my PNG map). If the bird is not seen tomorrow morning in the spot described, a place to check, if it turns out it is OK to walk off the road, would be a big swale east of the ridge where it was sitting today. Dave Leatherman Fort Collins PS - on my way home, I stopped at the DOW parking lot on Larimer CR64 just east of CR3 described recently by Gary Lefko. Two Short-eared Owls started working the rough grass and shrubland north of the parking lot at 5:35pm. Thanks to Jan Carter for spotting the first one. This is just about when they have always appeared at this location over the last 20 years - right when it's getting too dark to enjoy them. In other words, I think the "matinees" of the last two days are not normal for this location. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
