Snowy Owl.
Took another early hike with Jack today. A few birds at Beech Hill—including a mess of crows harassing a red-tailed hawk—but nothing otherwise noteworthy. Afterward, running errands, I saw a bunch more birds (goldfinch, mallard, titmouse, starling, pigeon, dove), which sort of gave me the feeling that, despite the chill, spring isn’t far away.
Young Snowy Owl.
Worked all midday, then decided on a lark to take another hike up Beech Hill. Only chickadees up there this afternoon, but we did encounter a couple of dogs and a bunch of humans, including Jay, a birder friend, who informed me he’d just seen two Snowy Owls at the airport in Owls Head. So I figured what the heck—and we took a little trip to the Knox County Regional Airport.
Sure enough, there were two owls there: what looked like an adult female on the post of the gate and a young one on the snowy ground nearby.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 10 a.m., and again at 4 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. American Crow*
2. Red-Tailed Hawk
3. Herring Gull*
4. Black-Capped Chickadee (v)
Elsewhere
5. Mourning Dove
6. Mallard
7. European Starling
8. Rock Pigeon
9. American Robin
10. American Goldfinch
11. Tufted Titmouse (v)
12. Snowy Owl
v = Voice only
*Also elsewhere
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black-capped chickadee, European starling, herring gull, mallard, mourning dove, red-tailed hawk, rock pigeon, snowy owl, tufted titmouse
