I went out for an afternoon sun-break today and saw an owl hunting the fields
at NOAA again.

After talking with Herb Curl, I'm sure this owl was a Short-eared Owl, not a
Barn Owl. I did not see the first NOAA owl, so that could have been a Barn
Owl...

The owl was cruising the large field bounded by the parking lots, baseball
field, and old exit road (now parking for building 9). We stood on the old
exit road, and watched the owl cruise back and forth, occasionally dropping
down as if to catch something, but we never saw it actually get anything. It
was unafraid of us, and came within a few feet (we never moved, it came to
us!) before slowly turning away. I was looking at it through some (pretty
poor) binocs when it turned and flew straight at me - oh those golden eyes!
In the late afternoon sunlight you could see distinctly the round facial disk,
the black wrist mark, and the buffy patch on the tops of the wings.

Just chatted in the hallway with some users, and it seems they've seen an
owl out hunting at 6am, noon, and 4pm. Add my 2:30 time in there, and we've
got 'em all day long! :)

Also spotted a mature Bald Eagle making its way north along the shoreline of
Magnusson/NOAA.

NOAA (7600 Sand Point Way NE) grounds are open 5am-7pm, 7 days a week. There
are security guards roaming the place, and there's a high probability you'll
meet up with them, but just be polite and explain you're birding, and they'll
leave you alone.

Susan Collicott
camel at serv.net
Seattle, WA