Subject: owling 1/15
Date: Jan 15 13:59:16 2001
From: Gr8HrndOwl at aol.com - Gr8HrndOwl at aol.com


Hi Tweeters: I set out early this morning (3am) and had a BARN OWL perched
on a fence post off of the Orting Hwy 162. The bird was very unskittish and
let me approach quite closely which seems odd for Barn Owls. Heading out on
Northbound 167 had an addtional BARN OWL sitting on a roadsign adjacent to
the freeway. The next stop was up on Fir Island in Skagit County where I
observed two GREAT HORNED OWLS that flew in after a couple attempts of
calling. At 6am they began calling repeatedly. Also of interest on Fir
Island was one very distant but distinct BARRED OWL call. I then headed up
to Whatcom County where I observed the NORTHERN HAWK OWL at dawn off of Stein
Rd. An incredible and unique owl!! It was nice to hear it call out several
times. After fumbling with my scope I looked back up and it was gone. A big
mistake when observing Hawk Owls is to look away breifly!! I drove the Stein
Rd./Delta Rd. loop without success so headed back down to the North Fork
Access (Rawlins Rd) where I missed out on Short-Eareds. It was also quite
foggy at Big Ditch so no luck with the Snowys, either. Oh well, a nice trip
regardless!! Bryan Mathews, Orting, Gr8HrndOwl at aol.com