December 26 Part 2 - Air Show somewhere in Delta

I hope this post does not break protocol. I will not divulge any location details since it is partially featuring an Owl.  It's also nearly a month later as I write this, so it's possible the subject is no longer in the area. Besides, very few people read this blog :-).

I arrived at the location and noticed quite a few photographers hanging around. Usually I recognize some people, but it's a different crew that frequent this location.

The first bird seen was a Rough-legged Hawk, perched close by on a tree. It had a very large tag on it's right side. Someone told me that it meant that the bird had been captured at the Vancouver International Airport, probably chasing Snow Geese.

The bird is tagged so that if it is repeatedly caught at the airport, it may be relocated somewhere farther out of the city.


Rough-legged Hawk - Delta, BC - 2017 Bird #220

However, the bird that most people were waiting for suddenly showed up, a female Barn Owl. I won't go into any other details, other than to say that it appears that recovery programs are working well. This is the first one I've seen in the wild since the 90's at Brunswick Point.

I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Barn Owl - Delta BC - 2017 Bird #221

 

The owl disappeared with a mouse or vole that it had caught and was not seen again as the light faded.

The Rough-legged Hawk made one more appearance, this shot with the tag out of sight.

This ended Boxing Day birding, one more outing to come for the year.