Subject: New Years Date with an Owl
Date: Jan 1 02:19:41 2004
From: Chris Charlesworth - c_charlesworth23 at hotmail.com


Birders,

Dinner and a movie this New Years Eve, while enjoyable, didn't quite satisfy
my appetite for fun and adventure, so just before midnight I figured I would
drive some back roads and search for the first "tick" on my 2004 list. The
road was mesmorizing, with snake-like lines of drifting snow, blowing back
and forth in front of my truck. I checked each telephone pole along Old
Vernon Road, in Kelowna, for the resident Great Horned Owl, but had no luck.
It was 11:45 when I turned down Bulman Road, on the S. end of the Kelowa
Airport. I slowly "trawled" down the long, straight road searching the fence
posts and telephone poles for a Great Horned. I saw nothing but the
flourescent airport lights flickering through the sky, until a figure
appeared on a telephone wire just in front of me. As I squinted through the
snow, and flipped on the high-beams, a pale bird, with dark eyes and a heart
shaped face peered back at me. It was a Barn Owl! Now, Barn Owls, while more
regular in coastal and southern areas, are very rare in my area, so I
screeched to a stop, nearly slipping into the ditch. What a great find!

At 11:53 I sat in the truck, hoping my new years date would not fly away
before the stroke of midnight. Just before midnight at 11:57 the bird lept
off the wire and flew off. My eyes inveteretly followed the shape. As the
clock struck 12, and fire works burst in the distance, I watched a Barn Owl
flutter, in a moth-like fashion, over the snowy field. The bird flew in
cirlcles over the field, then hovered, and more than once, pounced into the
grass with legs and wings extended. I was thinking to myself that this Barn
Owl was possibly the best New Years date I ever had, and at the same time
wondering what my previous human Jan 1st companions would think about that
notion. After all, this date had more purpose and intensity than a lot of
people I meet, as it hovered over the field looking for its first meal of
the new year. It was completely silent as well, a characteristic that many
"human" dates could benefit from. And oh, those long extended legs....well
let's not get carried away! The bird hunted over the field, then magically
disappeared into the snowy night, completely oblivious to the fact that it
had just made my "ornithological" year! There is a tradition amongst many
birders, that the first bird you see in the New Year is a sign of what kind
of birding year lies ahead. In most years, while trying not to see one on
Jan 1, I usually spot a starling or a crow out of the corner of my eye, but
this year a Barn Owl! To all of you who have had un-memorable New Years
experiences in the past, why not try searching for an owl next year. You may
find it's the best New Years date you've ever had!

Anyone who's interested in finding the owl, take Bulman Road off Old Vernon
Road at the S. end of the Kelowna Airport. Check the field and posts on the
S. side of the road at the SE. corner of Shadow Ridge Golf Course. Good luck
and Happy New Year to everyone.

Chris Charlesworth
Avocet Tours
725 Richards Road
Kelowna, BC
V1X 2X5
www.avocettours.com
c_charlesworth at avocettours.com
(250) 718-0335

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