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Lifebird 201: Hedwig
Jan. 22nd, 2009 11:12 pmYesterday I ditched work to go twitching. I drove 3 hours to Spring Hill to search for the Snowy Owl. I saw the sun both rise and set in my rearview mirror. It was a good day.
Snowy Owls are rarely seen in Tenn. This is only the 11th record, and the last time was in 1987, so it was worth trying for. It normally lives in the northern reaches of Canada. Snowy Owls are unusual among owls because they're diurnal, which means they're active during the day. That greatly increases the changes of finding one. Hedwig in the Harry Potter films is a male Snowy Owl.
I arrived at Spring Hill today around 9:30 local time. I checked at Cracker Barrel first, where the bird was first spotted, then proceeded south down Hwy 6/31 past the interchange and scanned along the fields, with no luck. I stopped at the Saturn Visitors Center and talked to the security guard there, who was very helpful. She told me that she had seen many birders at the locked gate directly opposite the Rippavilla Plantation. I drove there and encountered a birder, but neither of us had any luck. Another two fellows arrived, and they had been unsuccessfully looking since 8:30. I drove around until 11, when I decided that the bird had settled somewhere and the best thing I could do would be to amuse myself. I drove along the Rippavilla gravel road and took the tour of the house ($8). In their courtyard and on their lawn I saw an Eastern Phoebe, 3 lovely White-crowned Sparrows, 2 Mockingbirds, a few Cardinals, a Carolina Wren, a female Eastern Towhee, and a Killdeer. In the fields opposite the house was a Red-tailed Hawk. I think all day I saw 5 Red-tails, 4 of them gathered in one tree at once. I also saw Eastern Meadowlarks in the Saturn field.
After my tour and lunch, I drove back down by the Saturn field and found some birders who had located the Snowy Owl. Hurray! It was deep in a field, barely distinguishable from the plastic bag litter. A slightly closer position along the fence allowed me to see its eyes as it
turned its head and preened. I watched it sit in the sun for about an hour. I didn't want to leave.
Some birders were lucky enough on other days to get pictures of the owl. This is the position it was in when I saw it. Here is one of it in flight.
Snowy Owls are rarely seen in Tenn. This is only the 11th record, and the last time was in 1987, so it was worth trying for. It normally lives in the northern reaches of Canada. Snowy Owls are unusual among owls because they're diurnal, which means they're active during the day. That greatly increases the changes of finding one. Hedwig in the Harry Potter films is a male Snowy Owl.
I arrived at Spring Hill today around 9:30 local time. I checked at Cracker Barrel first, where the bird was first spotted, then proceeded south down Hwy 6/31 past the interchange and scanned along the fields, with no luck. I stopped at the Saturn Visitors Center and talked to the security guard there, who was very helpful. She told me that she had seen many birders at the locked gate directly opposite the Rippavilla Plantation. I drove there and encountered a birder, but neither of us had any luck. Another two fellows arrived, and they had been unsuccessfully looking since 8:30. I drove around until 11, when I decided that the bird had settled somewhere and the best thing I could do would be to amuse myself. I drove along the Rippavilla gravel road and took the tour of the house ($8). In their courtyard and on their lawn I saw an Eastern Phoebe, 3 lovely White-crowned Sparrows, 2 Mockingbirds, a few Cardinals, a Carolina Wren, a female Eastern Towhee, and a Killdeer. In the fields opposite the house was a Red-tailed Hawk. I think all day I saw 5 Red-tails, 4 of them gathered in one tree at once. I also saw Eastern Meadowlarks in the Saturn field.
After my tour and lunch, I drove back down by the Saturn field and found some birders who had located the Snowy Owl. Hurray! It was deep in a field, barely distinguishable from the plastic bag litter. A slightly closer position along the fence allowed me to see its eyes as it
turned its head and preened. I watched it sit in the sun for about an hour. I didn't want to leave.
Some birders were lucky enough on other days to get pictures of the owl. This is the position it was in when I saw it. Here is one of it in flight.