Jason, I think that you’ve really articulated the joy of awareness. Thanks for taking the time to share this, Tom Gilde
Sent from my iPhone > On Mar 15, 2019, at 11:12 PM, Jason Caddy <j.ca...@hotmail.com> wrote: > > Hello Birders, > Today I heard a pair of crows exhibiting mobbing behavior in a grove of pines > my front yard in South Minneapolis. I had recently found them mobbing a > Red-tailed Hawk and Cooper's Hawk in the area so I went out and expected the > expected, only to find the unexpected. This turned out to be the best overall > view I had of the Long-eared Owl because I was very close and the bird was > heavily distracted by the aggressive corvids who made contact with the owl a > few times and got a bill jab in return! I was able to call over some of my > birding friends who got to see the bird in the pines. It was hugging the > trunk of a tree and in dense cover so the photos and views where obscured but > the bird surprised us all when it flew directly towards my kitchen window and > pulled up and landed in a large crabapple. It was now on an exposed perch > which allowed photographs and was able to somehow fool the crows that went > back into the original position in the pines. The Long-eared Owl did its > signature "look like a pencil" pose to escape detection. I was happy to share > my sighting with the local birders and with some of my neighbors but because > I live in a town home complex I couldn't have too many people over at a time > (most of my neighbors would not care but there are a few...…) > This was another example of how the birding hobby is full of surprises and I > am constantly getting re-invigorated. It is also another example in my > experience of how the most rewarding sightings seem to come when you least > expect it (isn't that what they also say about finding love?) Many of my very > best sightings were not when I was concentrating and scanning every tree in > an area but when I stumbled upon the birds. I had a Yellow-throated Warbler > four blocks from my house while I was pushing my kids to the park in a double > stroller. I had to put the break on to quickly check a group of warblers that > were feeding on my neighbor's doorstep, literally! Another time I found a > Black-legged Kittiwake in Duluth when I was about to get back into my car > after scanning the lake. The gull just caught the corner of my eye as I faced > away from the lake- I was this close to entirely missing that bird. Then last > summer I noticed some reddish finches eating gravel on the side of the road > in Kidder County, ND and I told my mom I was going to turn around because I > hadn't yet seen House Finches in the county yet. The reddish finches turned > out to be a flock of Red Crossbills, in the middle of the Great Plains, in > July! > My point is that you aren't going to find a Lynx of a Black Bear in your yard > in South Minneapolis, and you're not going to find a rare species of Noctuid > moth because you just wouldn't know what the hell you are looking at, but you > can find a Long-eared Owl in your yard in a big city because that's how birds > are. They are unpredictable creatures that can fly and are readily > identifiable and that's what makes this hobby so amazing. If you are new to > the hobby and feeling frustrated give it time and if you are an old hand in > the hobby you know that the next great surprise could be just around the > corner..... or on the other side of that tree trunk! > > Jason Caddy > South Minneapolis > 949-370-3157 > > > ---- > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
