[mou] Spooked LEOW

[Sandy Kuder]

I went to MAC park about 11:30 yesterday.  Ran into a couple of other birders, no one was seeing the Owl.  Spent a couple of  hours enjoying the park (I never realized it was there).  I was about to leave around 2 or so when I heard a crow making a racket not too far in front of me.  Continued to the vincinity of where the crow was and just stood there for a couple of minutes.  The crow wasn't diving at anything.  After a bit the crow flew away and I still stood still.  Just looking and listening.  Didn't even raise my bins.   Eventually, I took one step.
   
  W H O S H.  
   
  Guess what?
   
  An owl was no more than 10 feet in front of me and I never saw it until it flew. 
   
  Does that make me an awful person?  Should I feel shame because it was so well camoflauged that I didn't see it until it flushed?   Nope.    I'll tell ya what I felt.  Frustrated at the fact that I knew it was an owl, but never got my bins on it.  So I can't tell ya if it was a Long-Eared or not.  
   
  But I'll tell you how I feel now.  Frustrated and a little angry at the short-sighted assumptions that some birders make about other people.   
   
  And you know what they say about assumptions....................
   
  Happy Birding,
  Sandy Kuder
  

Terence Brashear <birdnird at yahoo.com> wrote:
        It appears someone got too close to the Long-eared Owl at the MAC park in Crystal this morning. I heard that people looking for it around 11AM could not find it.  I was with 3 other people that found it in a different location around 9AM and we were kind enough to let people know the location - it was not easy to find.  I left at 10AM and it was still sitting calmly in the area we found it.

Whomever spooked this bird, and you know who you are,  you should be ashamed of yourselves.

I only hope it returns and can be seen by more people.

Please use common sense when you approach birds.

Regards,
   
Terry Brashear
Hennepin County, MN
http://www.naturepixels.com
birdnird AT yahoo.com
Moderator MOU-NET


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