[mou] RE: "Fake" Screech Owl (long)

[Kelly Larson]

Cathy,
    it's O.K. When I'm driving around I see all kinds of things that I
get
fooled by. This past Monday I made my husband turn around on a windy
section of Hwy 61 just north of Wabasha near Reads Landing. I was
convinced that I saw the body of an Eagle partially exposed in a pile of

snow in the ditch. Heck, the wing, with distinct flight feathers, was
sticking
straight up and practically waving at me! Upon closer
inspection my raptor rigor mortis turned out to be the trunk of a tree
that
had been violently shattered by a storm or vehicle impact.
    Then there's the time I went on my very first CBC. Of course it had
to be
one of the most closely watched circles in the country. Santa Barbara,
CA
usually places in the top 5 high species counts every year.
It happened to be my birthday and I was pretty eager to help out. I was
looking for anything unusual in the canyon scrub and chaparral. This
turned
out to be easy, it was all pretty new and exotic to me! After a
few good spots, California Thrasher, Canyon Wren, Spotted Towhee I saw
what I thought was a White-tailed Kite! It was hover-hunting a hedgerow
near a clearing in the distance. I called the bird. Nine pairs of
binoculars, including mine, riveted onto the fluttering of white and
black
just above the limb of a tall dead tree. Yes, there it was... the
magnificent
White-bagged Kite? How did a plastic shopping bag (with
bold black lettering) get way up there?! No amount of reassurance by the

group could lift the squirm of embarrassment I felt. I birded the rest
of the
morning in absolute silence. I didn't even mention the Brown
Sockwren I noticed poking it's head out of the hole in an old Live Oak.



--
Kelly Larson
Feathered Friend Wild Bird Store
3rd Annual Great River Birding Festival
2nd Annual Great River Morel Festival
2nd Annual Great River Eagle Spot Festival
Red Wing, MN
651-267-1001

The 3rd Annual Great River Birding Festival Is Coming...
Hosted by Wabasha, MN on May 14-15-16 2004.
http://www.mississippi-river.org/birding/

Visit Our Website
http://www.thefeatheredfriend.com