Annual Owl Prowl, April 2, 2017

April 2 proved to be a real hoot when Michael Runtz led us on our annual Owl Prowl in the Arnprior/Pakenham area.  The weather was warm and the winds were calm, a perfect night for finding owls.  At our first stop near Arnprior there was still daylight and a Snowy Owl immediately presented itself as it flew across a field and then perched in a tree so that all of us got good views in a scope.  At the same spot we were also lucky to find a Red-tailed Hawk perched at the top of  a pine tree nearby.  Moving along we had excellent views of a Northern Saw-whet Owl as it came in and sat in a tree right beside the road where we were standing.  This bird required quite a bit of effort on Michael’s part as he called it in!  At this spot we also heard an American Woodcock calling. Moving on to Pakenham, we were exceptionally fortunate to hear and see a pair of Barred Owls which were mating.  A great outing!  We had 50 people registered and 10 on a waiting list; this is always a very popular outing.