Date: 1/24/26 8:00 pm From: Cheryl Vellenga via groups.io <killdeer54...> Subject: [sd-birds] Owl Be Darned
About 3 this afternoon, I'd had enough of the news of the day and took off on a 40 mile drive for Hartford Beach SP (south of Browns Valley on Big Stone Lake). I was thinking that if I were there near sunset, I might have a better chance of finding a Barred Owl if one was present. I drove the back roads to get there, looking hard for Short-eared Owls, or frankly anything, but finding just a few pheasants and a Rough-legged Hawk. At the park, after locating only a couple of American Tree Sparrows from the car, I got out and walked the archery trail for about half a mile in -4° temps, hugging my camera and clenching my fingers inside my gloves for warmth. Mine were the only human footprints on the trail. A wide variety of critter prints made me aware of how alive the area would be if I weren't intruding. I looked in the fading light for owls and played several calls, all to no avail. The only times I've personally ever heard Barred Owls calling was as the sun was dipping below the horizon, so I gave it plenty of time. The light nearly gone, I startled up a couple of Northern Cardinals on my way out of the park, then headed for the interstate for a quick drive home.Gathering up my gear from the car, I plodded the walk from the garage to the house, fumbled for my key in the dark, and unloaded my bags and keys onto the kitchen counter. A few steps over to the sink, I flipped on the flood light above the kitchen sink window that illuminates the feeder area. There, as if to say, "So where ya been?", sat an Eastern Screech Owl on a feeder branch, looking directly at the window.
Cheryl VellengaSisseton, SD
