Bunches of Great Horned Owls

[Kristin Purdy <kristinpurdy at attbi dot com>]

By the time I saw my third Great Horned Owl on nest today, I realized it
was owl day and no one had told me!

Two of the birds are easily viewable without being disturbed; the third
took a little slogging to get within scope range.  One nest site is in
Ogden, just east of I-15, barely north of the border with Riverdale.  You
can see this nest heading north just after I-15 and I-84 join.  Watch for
the Best Western High Country Inn billboard and look east past the
billboard to the tall trees.  I've seen this nest many times in a 60 mph
blur, but never had a reason to investigate until I saw a large bird next
to the nest this morning.  Exit on 344A, 31st St.  Turn east and
immediately south (right) on Parker Road.  A half-mile later pull off the
road just after the bridge over the Weber River, and look for the path
that parallels the river south.  After about one hundred feet of pavement
set up your scope looking west.  You can't miss it.

The other two nest sites are in Cache Valley.  One is in Mendon, Utah, on
the road that takes you to the Wellsville Mountains Hawkwatch trailhead.
If you're driving up from the south, just after entering the Cache Valley
on Route 89/91 turn left on UT 23.  This intersection doesn't have a
stoplight or stop sign, but the route number is well-marked.  Drive north
through Wellsville and into Mendon.  Turn left (west) on 300 North.  The
nest site is .8 miles from this turn.  Watch for 6400 West, pass the brown
house on the right, and the nest is about halfway down the tall line of
trees that stretches west from the house toward the mountains.  The trees
are only 200-250 feet north of the road and might present a nice photo op
with a good lens.  I could see not only the bird's head, but also its back
and tail laying horizontally on the nest.  By the time I turned around
further west, the bird had also turned around and stared at me as I stared
back at her/him.

The third site is at the Little Bear River Restoration Site on 600 South
in Logan.  I reached it by back-tracking east down 300 North, passing
through the intersection with UT 23 by two blocks, turning north two
blocks, and turning east on 500 North.  This road changed names several
times as it cuts across the marsh, but it was 600 South by the time it
reached Logan.  About halfway across the valley, turn into the parking lot
on the north side of the road well-marked with yellow ropes and the Little
Bear River Restoration sign.  I passed through the gate and walked
generally north across a foot bridge, through marshy spots, and avoiding
cow pies and goose--er--stuff.  Look northeast for a thick stance of tall
trees lining the Little Bear River and in particular, the Great Blue Heron
rookery.  I saw several nests were claimed by herons, but don't be fooled!
The northernmost nest in this half dozen or so is occupied by an
interloper--another Great Horned Owl.  Distance from the parking lot to
where I set my scope was about a half mile.  Wear waterproof or cow
pie-proof boots.

Between owls # 2 and #3 I pulled off the road to watch a pair of Sandhill
Cranes about 200 feet away.  One of the cranes had adorned its lethal
mandibles with the BIGGEST mole I have ever seen in my life.  I believe
the mole had met its maker just before I arrived.  It dripped, floppy and
pendulous, from the crane's beak.  The crane manipulated the mole,
catlike, but minus the feline playfulness.  This bird was dead serious!
It repeatedly opened and closed its beak until one mole became two.
Several times, the crane dropped the mole on the ground and hammered it
the way a jay does when caching a peanut in the ground.  One time the bird
grasped the mole and shook its head fiercely, and little bits of mole
whirled around the crane's head.  The bird eventually swallowed the final
third in one great gulp, and I watched the muscle contractions down the
bird's neck.  Never during this major mole meal did the pair of cranes
stop walking.  Gosh, when I eat on the run like that, I get indigestion.

Kris

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