[mou] Owls

[Alt, Mark]

Around dusk last evening, as I calmly and serenely scanned Carlos Avery
for birds in declining light, I caught motion peripherally to my left. I
turned and was faced with a Short-eared moving at good speed, who
seemingly was wishing to perch on me since I was so well-placed. One
flap and he was 3 feet from me, at eye level, moving at a bout 10 mph.
My instincts failed me. Marlon Perkins or Pete Neubeck would have
adroitly turned with their camera in focus and pointed up, mine was
pointed down, and my central nervous system took over. I screamed my
best girlish scream, juggled my camera, spun left, threw my left arm up
to shield my face from attack, and then turned away, still screaming in
my harshest falsetto. The bird, it seems, wasn't attacking me, and it
seemed unaffected by my display as it calmly veered left and flapped
languidly on its way. Terrifying other animals is what owls do. I think
I managed to see things from the perspective of the Meadow Vole, and let
me tell you, it is an image I will retain. These birds are nearly as big
as Red-tails in wingspan, and their round yellow eyes shine brightly
from their sooty facial disks. These birds moved within 15 feet of me
several times again. They are spectacular flyers, perhaps the most
acrobatic bird I have ever seen. I have seen them push to rapid speed
like a Goshawk, stoop quickly like a Merlin, roll and tumble better than
a Harrier in May, and they are at times reminiscent of swallows coursing
over fields, at other times, and they are nearly bat-like in their
agility, quick turns and maneuvers. Moth-like? I don't think so. Man, if
Mothra could fly like that, he would have kicked Godzilla's butt.=20
Mothra is alive and well in Carlos Avery NWR, in the drier meadows
adjacent to Pool 10. Go see them and be amazed. I think I will fashion a
hat with a perch on it for my next visit. I am afraid I will put my eye
out. Good Birding.


Mark Alt
Brooklyn Center, MN