The Snowy Owl at National Airport was first spotted this afternoon at 4:55.
Tyler found the bird at the far south end of the landing area on a
structure to the right of the spinning radar tower. Even though the weather
was much clearer this afternoon, viewing conditions were worse than
yesterday in the fog. The airport had the greatest amount of air traffic of
any day I have been at Gravelly Point since the owl was first seen, with
passengers coming and going home at the end of the holiday season. The
strong winds and the shimmer from the jet exhaust caused problems when
trying to look at the owl from such a long distance. Mark spotted the bird
after it flew to another structure which was to the right of where we could
see the top of the National Harbor Ferris wheel in the background. Everyone
who saw the tiny white speck in a telescope this afternoon could count it
as a BVD sighting -- better view desired. Because of the amount of air
traffic, I left at about 5:25 and figured I'd try again tomorrow when plane
activity calmed down.
While today did not yield satisfactory looks, I try to learn something new
every day when I observe the Snowy Owl. Yesterday, I had my best view yet
of the bird doing distance flying. Usually when I have seen the owl fly
from a perch at the airport, it has flown low over the ground before
returning to a perch. Last night, the bird flew in from the river and was
higher in the air. This flight featured short quick wingbeats, and the owl
looked round and compact while doing it. The first night that I saw the owl
(12/20), I watched with other people as the owl was on the ground and being
buzzed by a Peregrine Falcon. The owl looked confused and raised its wings
in self defense. I have since seen a YouTube video that shows this same
behavior. A lot of the time I spend at Gravelly Point is a bit like being
on a fishing trip, because I am scanning and waiting for the owl to appear
without much happening. Sometimes when I am watching the owl on a perch, it
is not doing much. But it is worth setting aside a couple of hours each day
to be able to observe the owl in the hope of catching one of those moments
when something different happens that reveals a new behavior or a better
view of a fieldmark.
One final note. More people visit Gravelly Point to look at airplanes than
to look at Snowy Owls. One man whom I met the night before the rocket
exploded at Wallops Island seems to be an expert about all things related
to aviation. He told me that the white triangular structure surrounded by
the circle of red objects is called a "very high frequency omnidirectional
range." He started to explain to me how it works, and my eyes began to
glaze over. Here is more information for anyone interested:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VHF_omnidirectional_range ;.
I plan to continue calling it the white triangular structure surrounded by
red objects.
Best,
Bill Young
Arlington, VA
