A long look at a short-eared owl

In my few short years of being a serious birder, owl sightings have been few. I’ve seen short-eared owls flying around sunset a few times and I’ve snatched partial glimpses at long-eared owls tucked deep into the trees.

But last Saturday morning I received an unexpected treat at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm. A short-eared owl was perched up in the lone, big tree in the center of one of the main fields, and the bird could be clearly seen even without binoculars.

The bird, I learned later, stayed up in the tree for several hours, preferring that sunny perch to something low down on the snowy ground. I blasted off several dozen shots on a few camera settings, and I shot from a couple of locations to minimize the chances of small branches obscuring the owl.

Although I didn’t get a straight-on shot showing both or the bird’s beautiful orange eyes in full, I’m satisfied and grateful for the looks I got.