Snowy Owl in Allen Park! - 20 Jan 2007

 

Thanks Mike Oleary and Cathy Carroll for the posting this morning.  I was just over at Hal and Esther’s cleaning out their driveway after an inch of snow.  On the way home I was going to swing through the mall and check for birds, but the ponds were frozen, so I opted not.  Instead, I was going to go birding either up at Port Huron (Harlequin Ducks) or Pt. Mouillee.  Its only about 20ºF out, but its sunny for the first time, and I needed to get out.  

At about 11 am I checked mail and found that Mike and Cathy had reported a Snowy Owl at the new Meijer being built in Allen Park.  Robin suggested I call dad and go after it.  So, after a quick lunch and a phone call, Pa and I drove over to the Fairlane Green Mall and saw the Snowy Owl next to a red fire hydrant about 100 yds from the road.  A number of cars were there, so there was no problem seeing the owl.  

As we arrived a number of folks were leaving, but as soon as I got out I noticed Neil Gilbert and his dad (John), Jeff and Mary Finnan.  We viewed and digiscoped the owl from a well long distance just as the clouds moved in. Shortly thereafter Andreas Kanon arrived with his 600mm f/4 Canon setup (he had a Cooper’s Hawk land on his head just yesterday).  We photographed for about a half hour and talked, and I took some videos w/ the F30.  Unfortunately I lost the shutter blades that protect the lens, and the cap kept falling off, so I’ve removed it for good.  I've posted some digiscoped images of the red fire hydrant on pbase (too bad the Snowy was in the way  :)):

It was nice to see all the folks there.

PS.  Rumor has it that a Snowy is still being seen on Telegraph and Newport Rd. in northern Monroe Co.  Andreas mentioned that it was being seen several days in a row this week.

Fairlane Green Retention Ponds, Wayne, Michigan, US
Jan 20, 2007 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Protocol: Stationary
Checklist Comments:     Dad and I;
1 species

Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus)  1     Thanks to Mike Oleary and Cathy Carroll for the posting this morning.  I was just over at Hal and Esther’s cleaning out their driveway after an inch of snow.  On the way home I was going to swing through the mall and check for birds, but the ponds were frozen, so I opted not.  Instead, I was going to go birding either up at Port Huron (Harlequin Ducks) or Pt. Mouillee.  Its only about 20ºF out, but its sunny for the first time, and I needed to get out.  At about 11 am I checked mail and found that Mike and Cathy had reported a Snowy Owl at the new Meijer being built in Allen Park.  Robin suggested I call dad and go after it.  So, after a quick lunch and a phonecall, Pa and I drove over to the Fairlane Green Mall and saw the Snowy next to a red fire hydrant about 100 yds from the road.  A number of cars were there, so there was no problem seeing the owl.  As we arrived a number of folks were leaving, but as soon as I got out I noticed Neil Gilbert and his dad (John), Jeff and Mary Finnan.  We viewed and digiscoped the owl from a well long distance just as the clouds moved in. Shortly thereafter Andreas Kanon arrived with his 600mm f/4 Canon setup (he had a Cooper’s Hawk land on his head just yesterday).  We photographed for about a half hour and talked, and I took some videos w/ the F30.  Unfortunately I lost the shutter blades that protect the lens, and the cap kept falling off, so I’ve removed it for good.  I've posted some digiscoped images of the red fire hydrant on pbase (too bad the Snowy was in the way  :)):

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S41892984

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