[mou] MSP Snowy Owl, Peregrine Falcon-long

[Stan & Molly Jo Miller Johnson]

Greetings all,

Yesterday I made a fairly quick stop to look for the Snowy Owl, and had printed
out all the e-mails with directions so that I'd have a clue.  Of course, I
didn't even understand the thing about the tunnels, but figured I'd get it once
I saw it... I did (they are part of Cargo Rd).  I checked all the places and saw
nothing... not even hardly a FedEx or UPS truck.  By the way, Cargo Rd can also
be accessed by taking 24th Ave off 494 and heading north.  Follow the curves to
the left (west) until you have to turn left or right.  Turn right (north) onto
Longfellow Ave.  Cargo Rd. is up a ways (that's technical language for maybe a
mile) and is a right turn to the east.

I went back today, spurred on by Mark Alt's message.  This time I could picture
where they saw the owl.  I figured I'd head to the back end of Cargo Rd,
watching out my window, survey the FedEx territory and then work my way west
again.  At 2:40 today, as I turned onto Cargo Rd and headed east, I saw a large
raptor right there on the north side of the road at 1940 Cargo Rd (one of the
tenants is DHL).  I pulled into their parking lot and discovered that a
Peregrine Falcon was munching on its supper.  Can you believe I'd never seen a
Peregrine in the wild?  and it was tearing apart a large bird.  (It made me
believe that I could spot a large raptor...even if my target bird was actually
white!)  Behind the building there are a series of large light posts (each with
a bank of 4 lights at the top).  The Peregrine was on the westernmost light,
very easily seen from the west end of the 1940 parking lot.  About 2:50 (after
pooping and preening and taking bits more) it flew off towards the southwest.
That was the first time I'd ever seen a Peregrine fly... it didn't look how I
expected it to, with much faster wingbeats than I'd have thought.  When I left,
the prey's wing was still sticking up on the top of the westernmost light and
there was a blood splatter.  It must've been a pigeon, but it almost seemed
large enough to be a duck.  One time when it was tearing off a chunk, it pulled
the body up above the rim of the light and I could see more of the prey's frame,
and it seemed very large.  Can anyone identify a bird by seeing a portion of the
end of its wing sticking up from the light?  I'd be interested in knowing what
it ate!

Next, I continued with my plan.  At the back in the FedEx area I saw what was
probably the entire fleet of FedEx delivery trucks parked in their lot!  Their
deliveries must've been completed for the holiday weekend.  They also blocked a
whole line of sight to the east.  No Snowy.  I headed west scanning possible
perches.  Nothing.  I pulled into the UPS lot (planning to check Dave Cahlander
and Mark Alt's location next).  Low and behold, all their trucks were in and
parked as well!  And voila!  Ron and Cathy Huber's location was a winner!  At
3:11 I saw the Snowy Owl on the ground just about 10 feet southwest of the box
marked 8.  The owl actually seemed quite close to the runway.  Mostly it just
swiveled its head, and I only had a view of its front.  It had a large white V
from its face to its belly.  Its shoulders seemed quite white.  It barely
acknowledged the planes that taxied by on the next runway over.  Finally, it
lifted its head a few times and I thought it would hock a pellet.  It did some
preening and then jumped/flew to the box marked 8.  That gave me better views.
When I left at 3:35 it was still preening from the box.  I'd only seen one other
Snowy Owl in the wild, and that was years ago as I was driving by on my way to
work and I didn't realize what a special sight it was.

Thanks to everyone for their directions.  I saw a lifer (Peregrine) and a feels
like lifer (Snowy) because now I had the time and could appreciate what I was
looking at.

Molly Jo Miller
Inver Grove Hts, Dakota Co.
---------Original Message-------
> From: "Ron Huber" <huber033@umn.edu>
> Date: Tue, 13 Dec 2005 16:31:36 -0600
>
> At 4PM today, we saw the Snowy Owl from the south edge of the UPS parking lot.
Looking south, we scanned the closest runway, and saw the owl sitting  atop a
large green box (runway light?) with a large numeral "8" on the side  of the
box.  The owl had a very white head and much dark transverse marking  on the
back (presumed female?).  Perhaps the owl was picking up some heat  from the
very bright white light.
> Ron & Cathy Huber

-----------Original Message--------
Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 08:32:09 -0600
From: "Alt, Mark" <Mark.Alt@bestbuy.com>
To: mou-net@cbs.umn.edu
Cc: minibroughalt@aol.com, town_point@bellsouth.net,
"Shirley J. Alt" <altx0001@umn.edu>, xalt@comcast.net,
"Alma Pollock" <ARPetal@aol.com>, keljor@msn.com,
"David Alt" <davidalt3@comcast.net>
Subject: [mou] MSP airport Snowy Owl

I have had many good days birding after I pull up behind Dave Cahlander's red
Subaru. It means I am in the right place. On Tuesday,12/20/05, at 2:30 PM, Dave
had located the Snowy Owl on Cargo road, accessible from the intersection of Hwy
62 (Crosstown) and Hwy 77 (Cedar Avenue). There are two tunnels that go under
runways, then a rotary dead end. This day the Owl was between the two tunnels,
on the northern side, perched atop a security fence, on a post top, at eye
level, 120 yards away.  I shot 20 minutes of video, (eat your heart out Peter
Neubeck), and got the bird actively perusing its surroundings, then fluffing its
feathers up, tilting its head back, gaping impossibly wide, appearing to be
working up a pellet. It also did some preening, including cleaning of its foot
with its beak, accessed by lifting and twisting its tail and diving its head
down to its bottom area. Lots of feathers pushed around, I cannot be certain of
what it was doing. This is one flexible bird!  It was clearly a 1st year female,
with very dark blackish marking on every feather edge on its back and breast,
dark barring on the  tail feathers, and a clear white small bib, that extended
down the front of the bird equal to the height of its head. Its head was very
darkly mottled on top as well. The nape of its neck had marking son it, but not
as profuse or dark as the back. While watching the video, I realized I only have
to get the size of the posts and I can closely estimate the height and width of
the bird, I will try and do that. Maybe I can get mug shot backgrounds for each
post at the airport?  Parking alongside this road is in clear violation of the
signage in the area, so if you do stop, please use precaution and use flashers
and be careful not impede to traffic at all. I would hate to see us lose access
to this area. We looked hard for another bird in the area, to no avail.

I understand some birders have chased this bird 4 times at this location without
seeing it.  It certainly does match its surroundings. My wife remarked that the
film could be black and white and it would make no difference. The only splash
of color comes from the Snowy's amber eyes and the occasional red tail of the
jets taking off. This is a really large bird, and when it gaped to cough up a
pellet (it looked like a really big yawn), I was impressed by the size of its
mouth. I will check it out; it may have the largest gape of any North American
Raptor. I wonder what they are eating, perhaps some of the Jackrabbits that
still inhabit the area, but more commonly, I would expect rodents - rats and
mice. Has anyone witnessed predatory behavior from these birds? I have read that
Snowy Owls are known for chasing down Arctic Hares, locking into them with their
talons and then pumping their wings to slow and stop the Hare, then delivering
the coup de grace with its beak. Kind of like parasailing except the boat is
edible. This is the kind of mental imagery that will probably have me out there
shooting hours of video again this year. I know, I know, I am using a tripod,
even though I had to borrow one form Dave Cahlander yesterday. I recommend
stopping for red Subaru's when you are out looking for birds.  Good Birding.=20

Mark Alt
Brooklyn Center, MN
Hennepin County