Tag Archives: Strix varia

PLover and Monarch News, Full Wolf Moon, and Barred Owl in the Snow

Dear PiPl Friends,

I hope you are doing well. We are keeping our family and friends in our hearts as they struggle to return to a normal way of life after the tragic LA firestorms. I hope the winds die down soon so recovery can begin in earnest. Our daughter shares that she and her boyfriend are bringing supplies to firehouse donation centers and she is keeping her hummingbird feeders well-filled as there are more birds than ever in her garden.

Thursday night I am giving a screening and Q and A of our Monarch film, Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly for the Carlisle Conservation Foundation at the Gleason Public Library. We have super good news to share regarding the Monarch film – the contract has been renewed with American Public Television, which means our documentary will be airing on PBS for another three years! We will have two nature documentaries simultaneously airing on public television 🙂 Our film about the magnificent migrating Monarchs provides a wealth of information not only about the life story of the butterfly, but also suggestions on what to plant to support the Monarchs throughout their time spent in their northern breeding range.

We had a beautiful snowfall this past weekend. Snow storms and snowfalls have become so few and far between over the past few years in our area that I hopped in my car before sunrise and headed north to film what I could, hopefully before the snow stopped. There was hardly a soul about. A wonderful variety of songbirds was foraging in the falling snow and also a very hungry Barred Owl was zooming from tree to tree surrounding an adjacent field. I pulled myself away before she caught her prey because I didn’t want to have any part in preventing her from capturing her breakfast. Fortuitously, the very next day, a friend shared a post on how to tell the difference between a male and female Barred Owl. You can read the post here. I concluded the BO flying to and from her tree perches was a female. It was magical watching her in the falling snow. Link to video of her flying –https://vimeo.com/1047197766 or you can watch it on Facebook or Instagram.

The deadline is fast approaching for underwriting opportunities for our documentary, The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay. We need to have all the names of underwriters in by January 20th to fulfill our contract with American Public Television. If you would like to join our underwriting pod with a contribution to our film and have your name or your organization’s name included in our underwriting credit pod please email me asap. An example of an underwriting pod – This film was brought to you by the Apple Tree Foundation, The Shorebird Conservation Fund, Lark and Phoenix Bird, …, and viewers like you (these are just sample names). Please note that every time the film airs and streams on PBS over the next three years, possibly six years, the name of your organization will be acknowledged. Of course, we gratefully accept all contributions to our documentary at any time, but if you would like to be recognized in this way, please let me know.

Common Grackle Eating Plover eggs

I can’t believe that in only two short months Plovers and shorebirds will be returning to our beaches. Please contact me if you would like to join our Plover Ambassador team. Research from scientists in the Michigan Great Lakes region made Plover news this past week. Common Grackles were documented foraging on Piping Plover eggs. This is very noteworthy but not too surprising to our Cape Ann Plover Ambassadors as we have seen our Plovers defending their nests from Grackles. There is a very large roost of Common Grackles on Nautilus Road, opposite Good Harbor Beach. The Plovers distract the Grackles with their broken wing display and tag-team attack behavior. We wondered, were the Grackles posing a real threat or did the Plovers behave this way because Common Crows and Grackles look somewhat similar? Crows notoriously eat Plover eggs at every stage of development, from newly laid to near hatch date. We now know definitively the answer as to why our Good Harbor Beach Plovers are on high alert around Grackles!

Stay safe and warm and cozy,

xxKim

Barred Owl Snowy Morning Flight

2 Replies

Beautiful Owl in the Snow – and How to tell the Difference Between Male and Female Barred Owls

2 Replies

A photographer friend, Karen, recently shared a very helpful photo that shows how to tell the difference between a male and female Barred Owl, especially if they are not side by side. Females are generally larger, but it’s less usual to see a pair together. Reportedly, the white feathers around the male’s eyes form a V-shape, while the female’s feathers form a backward and forward C-shape.

Gregory Wajtera Photo

The Barred Owl that was very actively hunting in the snow I think is a female based on the photo Karen shared. What do you think?

Love the new Give Owls Space signs at DCR properties!

Seeing Hearts In the Beautiful Facial Disc of the Barred Owl

2 Replies

Happy Valentine’s Day!

The facial disc of an owl is the concave collection of feathers around its face that collects sound waves and directs those sound waves towards the owl’s ears. The owl can adjust the feathers of the facial disc, enabling the bird to focus at different distances, which allows it to locate prey by sound alone under snow and plant cover.

BARRED OWL IN THE SNOWY NIGHTFALL

Hellcat Reopens!

Parker River National Wildlife Refuge Part One

2 Replies

Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk listening for prey

I am in the midst of doing research for the Piping Plover film project and have found the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge to be a great resource. Recently I met a terrific warden there, Jean, and she gave me a copy of the historic brochure written in 1947 by Rachel Carson about the refuge. The brochure was reprinted and if you inquire, they may still have some copies in the back office. You can also download the brochure at this link: Rachel Carson Parker River Wildlife Refuge brochure

The brochure provides an early history of the refuge and is a fascinating view of mid-century conservation. And, too, it is a tremendous example of Carson’s thoughtful and thought-provoking style of writing.

Barred Owl hunting – The refuge provides over 300 species of migratory and resident birds with vital habitat

Some interesting facts about the refuge —

Located along the northeastern coast of Massachusetts, the Parker River National Refuge includes lands that lie within the three towns of Rowley, Ipswich, and Newbury. We think of Plum Island as the heart of the refuge. The wildlife refuge also includes a range of diverse habitats and geographic features; over 3,000 acres of salt marsh, freshwater marsh, shrub lands, a drumlin, cranberry bog, salt pannes, beach and sand dunes, and maritime forest. The land is not conserved to revert back to a wild state, but is intensely managed in order to preserve and maintain the diversity of wildlife habitats.

The original warden’s headquarters

Unlike our national parks, which preserves parklands or historic buildings, and are designed for people, a national wildlife refuge is established first and foremost for wildlife and their habitats, not for people. The preservation of wildlife is the number one priority of all our national wildlife refuges.

Plum Island is a barrier island and especially noteworthy for providing critical habitat for Piping Plovers.

The Parker River National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1942 to help species of waterfowl that migrate along the Atlantic Flyway. There were three sharp declines in waterfowl populations in the early half of the 20^th century, notably the American Black Duck, and national wildlife refuges all along the Atlantic coast were created in response to the precipitously low numbers.

Salt Island Impoundment

As we can see with our local Niles Pond, Henry’s Pond, and Langsford Pond shorebirds, waterfowl, and myriad species of wildlife thrive where they have easy access to both fresh water and salt water. The three bodies of fresh water that you see in the refuge look like ponds but they are actually manmade impoundments, created by dams and are highly controlled by a series of dykes and pumps.

Salt Island Impoundment Pump

Parker River provides pristine habitats for a wide variety of mammals, insects, fish, reptiles, and amphibians. Hunting birds such as owls, hawks, osprey, eagles, herons, and egrets find an abundance of food at the wildlife refuge. Whenever at Parker River I never not see a raptor!

Red-tailed Hawk Preening

When the Hunter is Hunted

Transfixing Owl Eyes

Because owls mostly hunt at night their eyes are very efficient at collecting and processing light. To protect their extraordinary eyes, owls are equipped with three eye lids; an upper and lower lid, and a third lid that diagonally closes across the eye. This action cleans and protects the eye.

More about Parker River National Wildlife Refuge to come.

Kim Smith Films

Tag Archives: Strix varia

PLover and Monarch News, Full Wolf Moon, and Barred Owl in the Snow

Like this:

Barred Owl Snowy Morning Flight

Like this:

Beautiful Owl in the Snow – and How to tell the Difference Between Male and Female Barred Owls

Like this:

Seeing Hearts In the Beautiful Facial Disc of the Barred Owl

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Like this:

BARRED OWL IN THE SNOWY NIGHTFALL

Like this:

Hellcat Reopens!

Like this:

Parker River National Wildlife Refuge Part One

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: