Short-eared Owls

     Yesterday, I made my annual trek to Shawangunk National Wildlife Refuge to enjoy the short-eared owls. As it is getting late in the season, this was a good day to get a chance to see them. It's about a 2 hours trek from Brooklyn so I broke up the trip with a pitstop at my amazing friends' pasta shop, DPNB Pasta & Provisions in Nyack for a late lunch and to pick up additional carbohydrates for dinner.
     In my arrival to Shawangunk I really lucked out. One SEOW gave myself and a few other some amazing and long views of it at fairly close range. It chose its perches, one progressively closer than the other. Which means I ended up with 600+ photos of one bird, in more of less the same pose. With each photo I'll share some random factoids about SEOW's and the grassland habitats they thrive in.

I arrived and was headed for the trail when another birder pointed and said "it's right there!"
It was not there 5 seconds ago!
A short-eared owl popped out onto a pole, directly in front of the parking area, a relatively short distance away.

The bird sat for a good while and then flew, to an even closer perch, still within range of the parking area. All observers remained in the parking area and gave the bird space.

It sat low, as Northern Harriers were still on the day shift, scouring the fields for voles and other rodents.
These grasslands are such important habitat for birds of prey like the harriers and owls and a myriad of smaller birds; in the summer this habitat is home to grasshopper sparrows, meadowlarks, and bobolinks. And those are just some of the birds.
Many other animals also call these grasslands home.

Grasslands are an important habitat and one that is harder and harder to find. The short-eared owls are considered endangered in New York State and grasslands like these provide crucial winter habitat for these birds.

Short-eared owls, living in grasslands, even nest on the ground. Even here in the grasslands, with no snow on the ground, many of them remain hidden in the grasses by day and begin flight at dusk.

The more open, the better. These owls are sensitive to changes in habitat and like other grassland birds, the less trees and shrubs the even better the habitat is!

As the sun gets low in the sky other animals take to the fields, like these white-tailed deer.

Nest boxes are available around the refuge grounds for songbirds during the spring and summer that nest here, like eastern bluebirds.
Also important to mention, all these owl photos are taken at a distance using a 500mm lens, of which then, the photo are cropped, quite heavily at times. This photo gives you some idea of the bird being given space to hang out and lay low until it is ready to begin its hunting.

Not so often seen, the "ears" of the short-eared owl - which are just small feather tufts.
The actual ears of this bird are located within their facial disk, which acts to amplify and funnel sound into their asymmetrically placed ears that allows them to hunt their food based on sound.

We had some good light as the sun began to fade, so sorry, not sorry for this opportunity to take as many photos as possible...

I can't put on makeup to save my life, but these owls have the most perfect smokey eyes...

There are many subspecies of short-eared owl as they are found nearly world-wide. They even reside on islands like Hawaii and the Galapagos.

While these birds winter here and in places south into Mexico, they breed North into Canada and Alaska. They range far and wide!

Eventually, as many of the birders and photographers had their fill, this bird began preparing for its flight and hunting over the grasses. It took to the air and flew to a new perch, further away.
Also, another thing I love about these owls: feathered legs and feet!

It seemed to gather itself, shake out its feathers and then took off on those long, beautiful wings. At least two other owls joined this bird, at one point even clashing in their air and calling loudly.

Flying silently as owls do, they flutter low over the grasses looking and even more so listening. When they are onto something they will hover and suddenly dive into the grasses. If you're lucky you'll see them come up with something in their talons.
This was the easiest, least strenuous outing I have yet to have at Shawangunk, it almost felt too easy.
I'm not complaining.