Asio flammeus

Went birding today up and down the south spit of Humboldt Bay--it was a spectacular day! Not only were the birds out in force, the weather was obliging, and the colors of the landscape burst forth in earnest: a turquoise ocean met green pastureland underneath deep blue mountain ranges and neon white puffy clouds. The earth was just alive out there.

So many happy bird stories. I watched Caspian Tern courtship on the beach ("Would you have this big shiny fish I caught for you, malady?"), spotted a pair of rare Harlequin ducks in terrific breeding plumage floating out in the ocean, and laid eyes on my first Black Oystercatchers and Semipalmated Plovers of the year. But what really takes the cake is my first non-Hawaiian lifer of the year, the Short-Eared Owl. What a gorgeous bird! I was driving down the long road to the end of the spit and it just lofted by, as if to say "Good morning" or "Glad to finally meet you," and was out of sight again.

The Short-Eared is a widespread species of owl, with distinct subspecies in Hawaii, the Galapagos, Europe, and Asia. It is a diurnal owl, meaning that it hunts during the day. It favors open areas such as marshland, prairie, and tundra, where it flies low looking for rodent prey. Its call resembles that of a barking dog.