Owls in action at the Pole Farm

On this Winter Solstice, I felt an obligation to do some birding at my favorite spot, the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm. It’s prime season for short-eared owls there, and I hoped I’d get a chance to see a few of them flying around sunset.

The birding gods were kind. On this, the shortest day of the year, three short-eared owls came out of the fields and put on an entertaining aerial display around 4:20 p.m., about 15 minutes ahead of sunset.

A crowd of photographers was already staking out positions along the central trail as I pulled into the Cold Soil Road parking lot shortly after 4. Every slot was taken, and I had to invent a spot near the maintenance barn.

As I walked up the trial, a Northern harrier landed on a bird box off the center trail, generating a lot of camera clicks from a cluster of photographers. Farther up the trail was an even larger gang of photographers, as seen in the photo atop this post.

I soon spotted my friend Andy, one of the Pole Farm regulars and a terrific photographer who’s become a good friend. He and I stayed with the smaller group of shooters halfway up the trail, and it was a lucky choice. A short while later, ace birder Fairfax came up the path and was the first to spot a “shortie” flying at the far edge of the field to the north.

I can’t remember the sequence of things, but suddenly two shorties came flying at us, and we pulled our cameras up to catch the action. The owls passed over to the field to the west and started circling. A Northern harrier appeared and began harassing the owls, who were then joined by a third owl.

The harrier buggered off at some point, leaving the three owls to thrash about. One of the other photographers reported that one of the owls had a vole in its claws, which explained why the owls were doing what appeared to be aerial combat.

By this time, the sun was slipping below the tree line, and photo possibilities dwindled. Andy was frustrated that he didn’t seem to have any decent shots, although he got a good one of that first harrier taking off. I had only glanced at a few of my early frames and figured I might have one or two fair shots.

And that’s what I had.