Subject: [Tweeters] Snowy Owl in Sequim
Date: Jan 12 19:48:56 2011
From: Bob and Barb Boekelheide - bboek at olympus.net


Tweets,

Jim and Audrey Gift of Sequim report a Snowy Owl sitting all day
today, Jan 12, on a rooftop on Bell Hill, a rounded hill on the south
side of Hwy 101 in Sequim. They say the bird appears to be a lovely
young female, dorsally and ventrally black barred on white, with a
striking white face. The bird is in the 400 block of Quail's Roost
Road, which is near the top of Bell Hill, about 900-1000 feet
elevation. Audrey is the president of Olympic Peninsula Audubon
Society and Jim is OPAS' conservation chair, both experienced birders.

Even though this is not typical Snowy Owl habitat near Sequim, such
as Dungeness Spit and nearby coastal marshes, this sighting is not
unprecedented. In 1996, the biggest Snowy Owl invasion year we've
seen in the last 35 years, there was a Snowy Owl at even higher
elevation on Burnt Hill, just south of this location at almost 2000
feet elevation.

Any other Snowy Owls seen this winter in western WA? We've been
anticipating an eruption since the last one in 2005, but nothing so
far. Could this bird foretell a late movement? Time to check
coastal beaches and spits -- more may be out there!

Bob Boekelheide
Sequim