On the Trail of the Hawk Owl

This is a photo of a recent rare bird in our neck of the woods, the Northern Hawk Owl. It's been hanging about on Westham Island in Delta for much of the last week. Isn't it beautiful? This is a (usually) non-migratory species of the boreal forest that sometimes appears further south when food supplies (vole populations) are low. It is a mostly diurnal species, and is awfully tame. It doesn't easily take flight, even when surrounded by hordes of birders! In spite of a pile up of traffic and cars coming and going, and many birders with big lenses, it just sat there, swiveling its head, watching the fun.

The owl is sitting at the top of the left-hand telephone pole in this shot, with many birders and their vehicles gathered below.

The owl wasn't the only bird about on this sunny afternoon. There were flocks of swans and snow geese flying by overhead, bugling and trumpeting as they went. On days like this, you can only wonder what this place was like before it was dyked and drained and the marshlands were much more extensive.

Read about the Northern Hawk Owl in an excellent write up by Jamie Fenneman on E-Fauna BC.