Phil,

I've seen several dozen Saw-whets in flight, and your description of the
flight style is dead on. The white face also seems to rule out Screech
owls.

In my experience, Screech Owls have a much heavier, more direct flight.
Saw whets are very light and mothlike at times, almost hovering, as you
described. When gliding low along the ground (as in "escape mode" when
they are flushed), Saw-whets may fly fast and direct, but when they're not
scared they fly slow and fluttery. I think in Bent's life histories,
there's an account of someone mistaking a flying saw-whet for a woodcock,
and while that may seem absurd at face value, I agree that when you see
the wings going like crazy for a glimpse in the headlight, there's a
strong resemblance.

Chris Hill
Everett, WA
cehill at u.washington.edu


On Mon, 11 Dec 1995, Phil Hotlen wrote:

> location: Bellingham, WA; Squalicum Harbor area;
> Marina restaurant (where I work part time).
> The restaurant is located at the end of an extensive
> fill area. Trees are absent, except for some bare
> saplings (ornamentals).
> time & date: 10 p.m., Friday, Dec. 8 `95.
> weather: dry, sub-freezing temps. (prior to wet, warm front).
>
> I went out to warm up my old car. After sitting there a few minutes, I
> turned my head in time to see a chunky bird flying right past my parked car.
> It was a mottled brown and whitish, as lit by a parking lot light. It
> had white markings on the face and forward-pointing eyes. The bird
> seemed to have a white, smiling mouth, with the bill as a nose---
> a fleeting impression. It then flew on toward the brightly lit
> restaurant entrance, an oasis of light. There, it circled around once,
> even as people were coming out of the restaurant only yards away. It
> then flew between the dumpster rack and the building, where it slowed
> down, almost hovering with shallow, bat-like wingbeats not more than 3
> feet off the ground. (There are some shrubbery and small rocks back
> there). It then disappeared into the darkness.
>
> This owl was never over 5 or 6 feet off the ground the whole time it was
> in view. Most of the time it was backlit, so I could not see its color
> pattern. It had a relatively large head, and no ear tufts that I could
> see. The wingspan was somewhere around 1 1/2 feet, and probably a tad
> less. A feathered moth!
>
> p.s.
> The only reasonable other possibility would be a W. Screech Owl.
> Screech Owls are resident in various wooded areas around Bellingham (see
> Terry Wahl`s new book: "Birds of Whatcom County" regarding the status of
> the two species). But the "jizz" of my bird was not the same (I've seen
> W. Screech owls in flight while I was stationed in Arizona many years ago).
>
> p.p.s.
> Less than a year ago, a Barred Owl crashed into a large window of this
> very same restaurant, but on the opposite side. That owl required a long
> period of rehabilitation. (I missed that event).
>
> Phil Hotlen <n8540420 at henson.cc.wwu.edu>
> Bellingham, WA
>
>
>