Short-eared Owl
Scofield Rd. x Buck Rd. north of Ithaca, NY - 8 December, 2007
This female was seen with 2 other birds just before dusk. Here, she has landed on a propane
tank behind someone's house to eat some sort of mouse plucked from the neighboring field.
She apparently first ate the rodent's entrails and then swallowed the rest whole (yumm!).
![](seow_female_12-8-2007.jpg)
This bird was one of three individuals seen on Scofield Rd. x Buck Rd. north of Ithaca, NY on 2 March, 2007.
These owls were first found here on the Ithaca Christmas Bird Count on 1 Jan 2007, and up to 4 have been
reported at this location since. This night, Deena Schmidt and I watched this bird plopped down into the
snow in a nearby field laying its wings open and spread flat on the snow while it looked around for a few
seconds. The bird then wriggled its way up from the snow revealing a struggling vole(?) in the owls tallons.
The bird then flew farther into the field to a patch of exposed ground where we then left it to dine in peace.
![](seow3_3-2-07.jpg)
All Photos (C) 2007 Paul Hurtado
(Just let me know if you use them!)