Subject: [Tweeters] Snowy Owls at Boundry Bay 12/2
Date: Jan 2 20:37:49 2012
From: Josh Adams - xjoshx at gmail.com


Hello all,
I had seen 4 Snowy Owls in Stanwood around Thanksgiving, but my wife wasn't
there that day and I wanted to some that were hopefully closer than a
quarter mile so we made are way up to the Boundary Bay to end the long
weekend.

I had high hopes, given the recent reports, but I wasn't prepared for how
close many of the birds were. In total we saw at least 23 and possibly as
many as 25 (did one count going out, another one coming back). At least six
of these were within fifty feet of the trail. The path had lots of people
present, but there were fewer than I expected, given the holiday. The crowd
was pleasant and nobody wandered more than a few feet off the trail or
flushed any owls.

Also spotted:
At least one Short Eared Owl. It had some sort of prey, but was harassed by
a Northern Harrier until it dropped. The Harrier wound up with the catch.
Several Northern Harriers.
At least a dozen Bald Eagles, mostly in trees and in flight on the drive
between the freeway and the park. I thought I saw quite a few more on the
grounds in nearby fields, but I didn't have a place to stop and scope them.

I'll close by saying this is my first post to this list. I was lucky enough
to overhear someone mention it earlier this year and track it down. I had
heard that there were occasional Snowy Owl visitors in the area last year,
and it had become my goal to hopefully see one this year since it had been
a dream since I was a kid flipping through bird books. Needless to say I
picked a good year :) Thanks to all of you for the insight and reports.
It's really opened up a whole new world of birding for me.

Josh
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