An owly day / 19-11-2011

Hi all,

Last weekend, I explored a new patch (look here) along the Red River, located approximately 20km upstream of Hanoi. A wonderful area, hundreds of hectares of grasslands, reeds, sandbars, mudflats, ponds… with no hunters, no 4x4…. I didn’t see much birds at this time (it was at noon) but I promised myself to come back. It is just the kind of place where you feel there is something great to find…

So yesterday I came back there. First, I was very happy to spot 2 Pied Avocets. I haven’t seen one for a fairly long time. It was the only good wader I found there. Four Pied Harriers were hanging around. I observed also 10 Black Kites resting on the sand and sun bathing with open wings, some Black-shouldered Kites…

The place where I flushed 3+1 Short-eared Owls.

The first three ones were near the clump of grass located exactly in the centre of the image

As I was walking between the soft sand and the grassy terrace, I bumped into 3 Short-eared Owls that were roosting at the feet of a clump of grass. I flushed them at very close distance (10m). I managed to get some shots, but all - except one - are blurry !


Very excited, I decided to check the nearby thick grass terrace. After 200-300m walking through high blade grass, I flushed 2 other owls at a very very short distance (3m!), in a patch with sparse bushes.
They flew up from a bush in which I found, on the ground, a nest with 7 eggs! The birds flew a short distance ahead (ca 50) and put down again in the thick vegetation. I noticed that the face was very like Barn Owl. I phoned immediately to Falk, who was busy with his bears. “ Does the Barn Owl nests sometimes on the ground ?”, I asked stupidly. ”No, but the Grass Owl does”; he answered. Grass Owl ? I must confess that it was the first time I heard about this species.

100 meters from the nest, in this small area without vegetation, I found many pellets

Let’s hope this disturbance will not have bad consequences on the success of this pair. In one month, I will check the nest… if I can find it again, it’s not guaranteed at all !

One hour after, I went back to the area where I saw the 3 Short-eared Owls to take a photo of the habitat. I flushed again an individual, of course not at the same clump of grass but not far away.

Sébastien Delonglée