A Short-eared Owl Encounter

Yesterday, we enjoyed a late afternoon birding session at Bodega Bay. The usual bevy of harbor birds was around, including several small rafts of Eared Grebes.

Brant were abundant in the harbor, and we captured the calls of a single bird swimming by.

We watched in delight as a group of 50 or so Buffleheads repeatedly dove and bubbled back to the surface. The sex ratio of females to males appeared to be about 4:1; however, first-year males look nearly identical to females, so it’s hard to discern the true ratio.

As the last hour of daylight descended, we found ourselves smack dab in the middle of an end-of-day, mixed-flock foraging frenzy in the coyote brush. Townsend’s and Yellow-rumped Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, Bushtits, kinglets, and chickadees swarmed around us, getting their last meals in.
 
Suddenly, we spotted a large bird flying above us with a telltale roundness to its face and wings – an owl!!!
 
We instantly assumed a Barn Owl was the likely candidate, as we’d seen one nearby before. But, as the owl flew along the ridgeline, we noticed some features that didn’t fit. The owl seemed a tad darker overall, had dark “comma” marks on the underwings, dark wingtips, and a lighter panel on the primaries – all signs pointing to a Short-eared Owl! What a treat!

20 minutes later, we observed the bird again hunting in the chaparral, and even enjoyed some prolonged scope views of it flying. A Northern Harrier cruised by and had a couple of brief dust-ups with the owl. Then, much to our surprise, a second Short-eared Owl appeared! The two didn’t seem bothered by each other.

Here’s the only photo we managed to snap not in silhouette, and it’s a pretty bad one! Still, you can see the dark “comma” marking on the underwing.

And, with this amazing Short-eared Owl encounter, our terrific afternoon of birding wound down with the setting sun.