Long Eared Owl at Leque Island Unit

This photograph of a Long Eared Owl was taken at Leque Island, located west of Stanwood between Port Susan and Skagit bays, also known as Eide Road to the local birders. It is a rare occurrence for a Long Eared Owl to be seen in this area but this year around new years eve two Long Eared Owl were spotted and have since made this area their temporary home, and have been roosting in bushes that are filled with black berry thickets. This makes it tough to view them during daylight hours. Long-eared Owls are nocturnal and generally spend days roosting in dense parts of trees, often near the trunk where their plumage provides excellent camouflage.

However if you arrive at the right time of day you can be treated to a clear view of this beautiful bird glowing in the last rays of the sun as day turns to night. While waiting for the Long Eared Owl to come out and prepare to hunt for the night I focused my attention on the Short Eared Owls dancing around in the sky above the marsh lands. And before I knew it, the Owl had magically appeared on the tree limb out in the open, without any sound or warning from its roosting location deep within the thickets.