[mou] 3 Short-eared Owls + Golden Eagle, Wilkin Co.

[Conny Brunell]

Friday the 13th proved to be a terrific day of birding for Leslie Marcus, Susan Schumacher and I in the Rothsay area in Wilkin Co.  From Rothsay we took CR 26 West (210th St.) to 300th Ave and took a Right.  Just before 200th St we saw 20 Greater Prairie Chickens off to the right in a field.  We watched them in the scope when all of a sudden something flushed another 25 birds or so into the air from behind where we looking, and they all got up and perched high up in the trees.

Then when we came around the corner of 300th Ave (at the traditional lek) to our surprise and amazement there were "3" Short-eared Owls hunting out over the lek.  We could hardly believe our good fortune to be watching these magnificent birds hunt in the fields so close by in the morning sunshine!  They would criss cross low over the road, and we watched one perch on a low fence post and devour the fruits of its labor in the scope.  

We decided to walk down the field road out from the brown wma sign, and when we had went a short distance at least another 50 Greater Prairie Chickens flushed up out of the corn stalks, what a sound!  One of the Short-eared Owls was hot in pursuit, and flew right over our heads, what a look!

We then birded many county roads and saw the usual winter birds, and at 12:20 decided to make one more pass along CR 176 (190th St) East of its junction from CR 15.  Within .5 miles we saw a Golden Eagle perched in a huge tree on the right side of the road.  We watched it in our scopes for 10 minutes before it got up and flew over the road towards us and perched in another tree closer to CR 15, and sat.

What a pleasure it was to be birding up in Rothsay today on a calm, warm day and have so many close, good looks at these great birds all before lunch.

Conny Brunell
Richfield, Hennepin Cty
connyb@mycidco.com