by Laurie Pocher

The Maine Young Birders Club set out in search of Short-Eared, Long-Eared, and Snowy Owls Saturday afternoon, in what has become an annual road trip down to Salisbury Beach State Park and Parker River NWR.

Salisbury Beach State Park didn’t deliver any owls, but we did pick up a very rare visitor: a White-Crowned Sparrow. It was keeping company with a mixed flock of Song Sparrows and American Tree Sparrows. We also saw a couple of Northern Harriers hunting the marsh right along the road.

On our way to Parker River NWR, we stopped at Spencer-Pierce-Little Farm, where we saw a grey morph Eastern Screech Owl. While we were there, a Bald Eagle flew overhead. A few minutes later, we were treated to the the sights and sounds of about 1500 Canada Geese flying overhead.

At Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, we saw a gorgeous and very healthy coyote sitting in the sun. We watched him for a few minutes until he trotted off into the dunes.

We drove the Refuge Road to Hellcat Swamp stopping at a few spots along the way. After an incredibly cold week, there was no open water, and very few ducks. We saw a few American Black Ducks and some Common Goldeneye.

There were lots of birders staking out locations in hopes of seeing the Short-Eared Owls, so at about “owl o’clock” we made our way back to the pond near the maintenance shed to wait for them to start hunting. Looking across the marsh, we saw a Snowy Owl way off in the distance. It was nearly impossible to see without a scope, and even harder to photograph. A couple of Northern Harriers flew overhead, but no sign of the Short-Eared. After a beautiful sunset, we made our way back to Maine.

All tolled, we saw 17 species of birds, including two owl species. You can see our Trip Report on eBird: https://ebird.org/tripreport/324716

We have some exciting trips coming up… keep your eye out for our February trip announcement coming soon! Happy Birding!