Date: 1/25/26 7:21 am From: Ricky Olson via groups.io <olsonr088...> Subject: Re: [sd-birds] Owl Be Darned
Been there
On Sat, Jan 24, 2026 at 10:00 PM Cheryl Vellenga via groups.io <killdeer54=
<yahoo.com...> wrote:
> About 3 this afternoon, I'd had enough of the news of the day and took off
> on a 40 mile drive for Hartford Beach SP (south of Browns Valley on Big
> Stone Lake). I was thinking that if I were there near sunset, I might have
> a better chance of finding a Barred Owl if one was present. I drove the
> back roads to get there, looking hard for Short-eared Owls, or frankly
> anything, but finding just a few pheasants and a Rough-legged Hawk. At the
> park, after locating only a couple of American Tree Sparrows from the car,
> I got out and walked the archery trail for about half a mile in -4° temps,
> hugging my camera and clenching my fingers inside my gloves for warmth.
> Mine were the only human footprints on the trail. A wide variety of
> critter prints made me aware of how alive the area would be if I weren't
> intruding. I looked in the fading light for owls and played several calls,
> all to no avail. The only times I've personally ever heard Barred Owls
> calling was as the sun was dipping below the horizon, so I gave it plenty
> of time. The light nearly gone, I startled up a couple of Northern
> Cardinals on my way out of the park, then headed for the interstate for a
> quick drive home.
> Gathering up my gear from the car, I plodded the walk from the garage to
> the house, fumbled for my key in the dark, and unloaded my bags and keys
> onto the kitchen counter. A few steps over to the sink, I flipped on the
> flood light above the kitchen sink window that illuminates the feeder
> area. There, as if to say, "So where ya been?", sat an Eastern Screech Owl
> on a feeder branch, looking directly at the window.
>
> *Cheryl Vellenga*
>
> *Sisseton, SD*
>
>
>
