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There's nothing like seeing a Northern Saw-whet Owl
in sunny Ogden Valley in Weber County to lift one's spirits! Glenn Barlow
and I watched a sunning, sleeping Northern Saw-whet in a small juniper tree
this afternoon around 3 pm. The tree is situated about 70 feet off SR-158
and an agitated Townsend's Solitaire "pointed out" the predator to
me.
After I called Glenn to join me in the valley,
several different bands of Dark-eyed Juncos approached the tree and investigated
the sleepy one. I wanted to shoo them away for fear that the owl would be
disturbed before Glenn arrived. But no worries there; the saw-whet didn't
care whether juncos, chickadees, or the solitaire tried to alarm the whole
neighborhood. The owl just continued to nod its head, sleep, or open its
eyes just a slit and stare ahead.
Later, Glenn and I approached the owl to a
distance of 15-20 feet. Although the saw-whet opened its startling yellow
eyes wide, its attention seemed to be focused elsewhere. It was still not
concerned with our presence. My very lame squeaky mouse impersonation
seemed to have little effect. We returned to the side of the road and
Glenn looked through the scope one more time. "Oh! It just
upchucked a pellet!", he said. I took a quick look and saw a black,
shiny globule laying on the juniper branch in front of the owl. Don't
think, "Eeeuuuwww, gross!", think "Cool!", because it was
pretty cool to be a witness to this behavior. After thinking back on the
event, I believe the owl became alert in preparation for the "upcoming"
pellet.
We looked for signs that the small juniper was a
favorite perch. We didn't see quantities of built-up whitewash, although
there appeared to be a small, fresh stream on branches below the owl. I
hope to monitor the site for future sightings.
Earlier in my birding day Ogden Valley also
produced Canada Geese, a Common Goldeneye, Pied-billed Grebes, Bald and Golden
Eagles, Red-tailed Hawks, a Rough-legged Hawk, American Kestrels, Prairie
Falcons, a Belted Kingfisher, Northern Flickers, Western Scrub-jays,
Black-billed Magpies, American Robins, American Tree Sparrows, a White-crowned
Sparrow, House Finches, Pine Siskins, and American Goldfinches.
The only open water at Pineview is at The
North Arm where the North Fork of the Ogden River enters the reservoir.
That's where the single goldeneye and the five grebes were.
Kris
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