Priscilla's
Bird Photography

Photos from personal trips  AND trips with
Birds of Oregon and General Science, (BOGS) in association with Eugene's Celeste Campbell Center

provided by:
Priscilla Sokolowski
Eugene, OR
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Short-Eared Owls photographed between Dec 26, 2014
and the end of March 2015.

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Short-Eared Owls, Dec 26, 2014, Diamond Hill conservation area
A Short-eared Owl was first reported (to eBird) in this area on Tuesday, Dec 23, by Barbara Combs.
She saw one at 4:24pm

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The Owls first appeared around 4:25pm. They were frequently making their one-syllable "beck" calls,, though I did not hear or see any of them doing the "wing-clapping" witnessed last Feb (2014) near the McLagan Eagle roost. When I first started seeing them, three of the Short-eared Owls flew south while up a few hundred feet. I saw that at least one of those returned maybe 15 minutes later. Maybe they all returned, I don't know. I was busy watching and listening for the closest one I could try to photograph. There were numerous Northern Harriers flying around the entire time I was there - until 4:55pm - even though it was getting quite dark. Around that time I could see 5 Harriers with only a small panning movement of my binoculars. I would guess there were four or five more. As for the Owls, I know there were three but I would guess there were a half dozen or more in the area.

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This particular owl flew over my car looking down at me from about 20 feet above. It then circled and flew over me again looking down towards me. With the light level being so low at the time, 4:40 pm), and the bird's movement being so fast when up close like that, I was lucky to get my camera to focus and shoot any photos at all.

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This next photo shows how dark it was getting by the end of my visit. The photo after this has been brightened to provide more detail. Several of the photos taken near 5pm have been brightened in the same way.

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