After 3 postponements because of unsuitable weather, the Owl Prowl, led by our own, Michael Runtz, finally occurred on Tuesday, April 16, and it was well worth waiting for! We enjoyed a warm, calm evening under a full moon. The latter provided good views of the owls we found and made for easier walking around. Being a bit later this year also gave us the opportunity to scan the fields near Arnprior for Snowy Owls and Short-eared Owls. We were very fortunate to find 2 Snowies still in the area.
As we moved along towards Pakenham, we made several stops at places likely to have owls and we were not disappointed. There were 2 Barred Owls, 2 Northern Saw-whet Owls and 1 Long-eared Owl, 4 different species! In addition to the owls we saw many other birds, most notably, a male and female Northern Harrier were seen well in daylight and several American Woodcock were heard “peenting” and seen doing their aerial acrobatics. One of our best Owl Prowls ever and a gorgeous evening.
