Thanks again to all who posted on this Hawk Owl, and
very special thanks to the understanding neighbors
there. Today, Carol Ledford and I went over to Bend
to see the Hawk Owl. At about 11 am we arrived on the
site following the great directions posted earlier by
Diane & Peter. There were several other birders there
when we arrived, and the property owner had already
given viewing permission, as they were also observing
it from their upper deck. What a Performer this beauty
is! We watched it for about an hour. The bird was
perched atop a pole (antenna mast?) attached to the
house next door to the driveway we walked up. It flew
low from that perch and went across the driveway
(about 30 feet from us) and landed in a dead Juniper
in the backyard of the property we were on. It preened
for several minutes, showing all of its markings. We
had great views with and without binoculars and super
views in the scope. The bird was only about 60 feet
away and filled the field of view at 15 power. It
eventually flew several more times, each time with a
deep dive and a return to either a dead Juniper top or
a living young 12-15ft conifer top. We watched as it
made two attempts at mice. On the second strike it
came back to a top perch with a small grey rodent
about 1/4 its size WOW!! It nibbled, then flew to
various perches before dropping, retrieving, and
finally swallowing its Noon-hour snack. What a show!

One caution, if you do not see this people-tolerant
bird as soon as you get there. There are acres and
acres of dead Junipers that may need scanning. At one
time the bird was about 150-200 yards off the road.

On the way out of the neighborhood, Cort Vaughan, one
of the birdwatchers graciously invited us to check his
backyard feeders for Pinion Jays. They were not there
at the time but a very close and always-nice
Townsend's Solitaire was in his yard. Upon leaving his
property we had barely gone 3-4 houses when we saw and
heard a very vocal flock of Pinion Jays in a yard
across the road from his property. There were perhaps
100 or so in varying light in trees, on fence rails,
on the driveway, woodpile, and grasses. Great views of
this very nomadic bird. We watched them for about 30
minutes. Definitely life looks for both of us.

Bill Clemons
Lake Oswego
Willclemons at yahoo.com




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