Short-eared Owl - Passage migrant in Hanoi

A Short-eared Owl found by Tom on 2nd April, I relocated it few hours later. A great bird that is rarely seen in Vietnam (or maybe just under-recorded due to the lack of people checking suitable habitat at the good period of the year).

This is my third sighting in Hanoi, the 2 first ones in November 2011 and 2012, always in the same habitat: large sandy areas along the Red River, seasonnally flooded, with sparse vegetation.

Some buttonquails's hunters tried to catch it for the pot. Between the guns, the traps, the mist nets or the slingshots, the avian world in Hanoi - and unfortunately almost everywhere in Vietnam - is under constant attack.

Met the same day Dominic who found a female Japanese Robin in the wooded patch at the northern tip of the Red River island! Hope he will be posting on this blog some of his records.

Scaly Thrush, on 3rd April - better shooting conditions today after fog and heavy overcast over the last few days which made photography under tree covert almost impossible

Scaly Thrush is an uncommon but regular passage migrant in Hanoi

Sebastien

Pics of Short-eared Owls

One week ago, nice encounter with 3 Short-eared Owls. As I was checking the most suitable site for this species around Hanoi - some dozens of kilometers away from the city -, I flushed an individual at about 4pm, at very short distance (6-7 meters). Twenty meters more on the right or 20 meters more on the left, and I am pretty sure that the owl wouldn't have moved a single talon! Fifteen minutes later I flushed 2 other guys as I was chasing the first one, again at very close distance. Two hours before, I had already crossed this place but saw nothing... except Paddyfield Pipits!

Last year, exactly at the same place and the same month, I also flushed 3 (again!) owls together (are they migrate in small flocks or just meet by chance?). They saw me from very far but waited the very last moment to fly off.
Very easy to overlook a bird like this... especially for a mid-day birder like me ;)
I didn't see any of them hunting, but I presume they are active at dusk and dawn.

The site : large sandy area along the Red River (500m away on the horizon), seasonnally flooded, with sparse vegetation.

Sébastien Delonglée

Short-eared Owl - Red River/Hanoi

The Short-eared Owl was one of my main targets this automn. I have been lucky enough to see recently 3 individuals near Hanoi, along the Red River. This is a short video of one of them. I will send photos later. 
A scarce bird in Vietnam. Or maybe just under-recorded due to the lack of people checking suitable habitat at the good period of the year...

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