When the alarm sounded I really did not feel like getting up. But I had planned to join the Hudson River Audubon field trip at Pelham Bay Park looking for owls. So I rolled out of bed and into a sunny, mild morning.
Because of exceptionally warm weather this winter, reports of owls have been almost non-existent. So I really did not expect to see an owl. Still I needed to get out into the fresh air in a natural environment. I hadn’t been outdoors since New Years Day and we did find a Great Horned Owl that day. So maybe …..
Yes, we did spot one Long-eared Owl high up in a pine tree. There were 25-30 birders in our group and most of them had looked in the 
tree but had missed owl. A woman standing next to me said “is that one up there?” I looked where she pointed and saw something. Initially I thought it just a bunch of leaves but through binoculars it did turn into an owl. We were able to focus scopes on the owl and everyone had a good look.
Other than the owl we didn’t see many other birds. Of course, seeing an owl is enough reward to make the walk successful for most of us.
The other highlights of the walk were 3 seals on the rocks just off shore. I didn’t expect to see an owl much less a seal so the morning walk was worth getting up for.
My wife Dana was the woman that spotted the owl. This was our first real owl prowl and our second long eared owl. It was a beautiful day and a great spot.
Frank,
I am really bad with names. I wanted to give Dana credit for spotting the the owl, and I was pretty that “Dana” was right but I wasn’t one hundred percent certain. So rather than give credit to the wrong name, I just referred to a generic woman.
I glad you guys enjoyed the walk. Mike always does a good job of leading a trip. And on all birdwalks, there is a collection of nice people