"Check every hole in a tree, particularly those facing the sun, during cold weather. It may take a while, but eventually you will be rewarded by a camouflaged figure sitting at the entrance to its home."
I had those words in my head as I drove past a tree which had a peculiar looking knothole in it. I went back to take a closer look and found an Eastern Screech Owl sitting silently in the entrance of a hole in the tree! From what I read, screech owls tend to be more reddish or brown in our area versus gray in other regions.
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So those are a few birding related ideas I have to help me make it through the winter months.
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Do You have any ideas you'd like to share about ways to make winter birding more comfortable or enjoyable?
15 comments:
I would love to find an owl in the wild! (Other than a Snowy Owl) I will compete against myself in the January bird count again this year.
Good idea, Larry, about checking south-facing tree holes for owls. I have seen only a couple of owls in the wild. This should help me find more.
very nice post Larry.
I have yet to be rewarded but try to look in every knothole.
Happy New Year.
dan
Excellent Larry... I'm jealous at your 28 species already! I've only seen 15 so far!!! happy new year BTW...
You did a very ncie post there and I loved reading it!!!
Ruth-I'd love to see a Snowy Owl!Don't compete too hard against yourself or you'll never win.
Hilke-Thanks-although it wasn't my idea-only my idea to read the book.
Dan-I hear you Dan-it was mostly luck on my part but reading that inspired me to look a little harder.
Chris-Thanks-It's all relative to where you're birding. The birders in Connecticut who live near the shore have 28 species in the first hour-let alone the first day.
Great post, Larry! Happy New Year! I really enjoy car birding this time of year- it takes the edge off.
Warren and Lisa-thanks-same to you!
I enjoy car birding during in the winter also- I always have access to coffee or the radio during the slow spells.
My solution for Winter birding was to move from Canada to Louisiana, but I was REALLY tired of Winter. *L*
Lana-That sounds like a permanent solution.-Do I hear a 5 ways to make summer birding more enjoyable post coming?
I'm kinda the opposite from Lana. We usually head up to the boreal forest from the Banana Belt here in Souther Minnesota. My targets up there are irruptive species like Great Gray, Snowy and Hawk Owls. It's doable and always a thrill to spot one.
troutbirder-Good idea!-I was thinking along similar lines but I'd probably be heading north for possible winter finches or other boreal species other than owls.
Great blog! It's so cool that you're able to see all of these birds yourself. And thanks for sharing what you've seen.
Great suggestions!!
I'll add... Bird from your car.
Larry, I am in on the Big January thing. I found a funny knot hole at the bog and stared and stared at it with my bins but soon realized it was only a knot. Oh well, I'll keep looking. Great suggestions by the way.
Dostoy-Thanks for the comments-I appreciate that.I enjoyed reading the recent post about Trower on your blog as well.
Harold-Great way to get photos too.
Kathie-I've been staring at lots of knots too.I was fortunate to find the Screech Owl.
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