Early December in Ohio can be quite picturesque -
Golden grasses on windswept plains
Snow laden clouds hung above pools of waterfowl.
Killdeer Plain's famous owl woods; we are searching for Long-eared Owls.
The best we could find was a sleepy Barred ( Bard?) Owl, perhaps with nom de plume Shakespeare, resting from his nightly work.
We had great company - Greg, Leslie Cornett and I ( not pictured) met up with Nina (the now near-famous salamander photographer and author) Harfmann and Tim Daniels, Division of Wildlife photographer.
The wet, open grass lands are excellent for Northern Harriers, once known as Marsh Hawks.
We didn't stay late enough today to see the Short-eared Owls, but they are back. This is one I photographed mid-day, a few years back.
Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area lies south of Upper Sandusky, Ohio. It is excellent for winter raptures, owls and migrating waterfowl. For more information click- here.
I'm pretty sure "winter raptures" is a typo but it's a great one. Winter raptures, indeed - perfect words to describe a chilly trip to Killdeer Plains. I have very fond memories of birding there (and getting my life Long- and Short-eared Owls) in college.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct about that typo! I have jokingly refered to them as "rapures" for so long, I must have been on auto-pilot!
ReplyDeleteBut is it true: Killdeer is filled with "winter raptures"!