Short-eared Owl at Dusk
by Bryce W. Robinson
I’ve wanted to share this video for some time, but I simply haven’t.
Last winter while conducting Golden Eagle surveys for HawkWatch International across the western half of the state of Utah, I came upon my first Short-eared Owl for the season. It was a tolerant bird, letting me film it for some time. I was happy to capture its nervous movements, as it scanned about for threats and prey. This was the start of a winter full of Short-eared Owls and a memorable season in the open lands of the Great Basin.
Folks don’t often see owls, even those that bird regularly. For those that haven’t seen an owl for some time, or even ever, let your eyes fall on this bird until you find another.
ornithologi.com 
nice swivel action 🙂
I like the mechanical look to the head swivel too!
indeed! I can almost hear the clicks! 🙂
it’s neat to be able to do that. of course, if my eyes were fixed in their eye sockets, I guess that’s a given. 🙂 🙂 🙂
“This was the start of a winter full of Short-eared Owls”
I had no idea there were that many shorties out there, Bryce. I envy the time you spent with this bird. Interesting clip.
Thanks Ron. For whatever reason, there were many shorties out last winter in western Utah. I was lucky with this bird though.
Nice, Bryce. I looked for short eareds all winter driving back and forth in Skull Valley. No luck. I remember when I ‘rescued’ you and drove you back to SLC, we saw so many. Maybe next year! They are one of my favorites.
I heard from Mike that Skull Valley has been Shorti-less this year. Interesting. I still owe you for that rescue!
Kudos. Good post