[EBB Sightings] Short-eared Owls continue near Byron; also intriguing bird sound

Sorry for the late report on Short Eared Owls near Byron Hot Springs.
On Wednesday afternoon returning from viewing the Smew in Willow Springs,
Pat Bacchetti and I stopped to view the Short Eared Owls.
Near 3:30 PM we had 6 Short eared Owls.
 5 owls in the air, one rather close to the fence line was calling.
There was a Harrier hunting,  Great Egret and a White Tailed Kite hunting
also.
Up the road a touch ( couple hundred feet ) on the left hand side was a
single Burrowing Owl.
Watching the owls flying low, getting close long looks, tracking them in
the scope, reminded me of the flight of a Poor Will or a Mew Gull , moth
like.

Richard Cimino
Pleasanton
Justice: A decision in your favor


> [Original Message]
> From: Dave Quady 
> To: East Bay Birds 
> Date: 1/27/2007 1:00:14 PM
> Subject: [EBB Sightings] Short-eared Owls continue near Byron;also
intriguing bird sound
> Birders:
> Encouraged by reports from Clark Stanton and Art Edwards, I tried again 
> yesterday for the Short-eared Owls that Kathy Robertson found on 
> January 15.  (On January 19 I had tried between about 5:30 and 6:00 pm, 
> but found only two Burrowing Owls and, later, two Barn Owls.)
> I arrived at 10:00 am yesterday, and soon saw at least three 
> Short-eared Owls, two Northern Harriers, and three White-tailed Kites 
> hunting the fields in question.  A birder already there (don't know 
> what time she arrived) said they were hunting when she arrived.  
> Activity continued until near 11:00, then slacked off, and I left.  I 
> saw no obvious prey captures by any of the raptors, and no 
> inter-specific action.  A grazed field next to the raptors' hunting 
> fields held two Burrowing Owls and one Long-billed Curlew, and an adult 
> Ferruginous Hawk was beyond the right turn on Byron Hot Springs Road.
> Very near the Holey Road/Byron Hot Springs Road intersection, I twice 
> heard a series of 5-10 low "hoo" or "coo" notes, delivered slowly, on 
> the same pitch, and at a uniform pace.  The sounds reminded me most of 
> Greater Roadrunner (which seemed improbable at that location), except 
> that its "song" often (always?) ends with the notes trailing off in 
> pace and pitch.  I looked for a vocalizing bird, but saw none.  What I 
> heard doesn't fit with any dove/pigeon or owl vocalization that I know 
> of.  If anyone hears the same sound or, better yet, identifies the bird 
> that made it, I'd be glad to hear about it.
> Here are Kathy's directions: "The birds were all seen in a fenced area 
> which is signed as "Byron Airport Habitat Protection Area". To get 
> there, turn off the Byron Highway onto Holey Rd., then turn left on 
> Byron Hot Springs Rd. The SEOWs were in the field on the right (west) 
> side, from the intersection down to the first sharp right turn (later, 
> I had one perched along the road just past the turn)."
> Dave Quady
> Berkeley, California
> davequady at att.net
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