Isn't that how the saying goes? Well, it's how it goes now.
Yesterday we took a trip over to Kona-side to run some errands and such, and on the way back, Kalewa spotted this, so I jumped out and tried to get some photos.
Now, there are two kinds of owls in Hawai'i. There's the Barn Owl, introduced in the 1950's, and there's the Pueo, which is the endemic subspecies of Short-Eared Owl. Since the Pueo is an endangered species, the logic is "If you see an owl, it's a Barn Owl until proven otherwise."
Well, one obvious proof is that Barn Owls are nocturnal, and the Pueo is diurnal. So of course we saw this one just at or a little before dusk. Another distinguishing factor is that the Pueo is smaller than the Barn Owl. Also, it's darker in color than a Barn Owl. Since I had no Barn Owl on hand to compare this one to (lesson learned: never leave your Barn Owl at home), these do me no good. And of course none of the photos turned out very well.With my short lens I was only able to get so close before spooking it. But with the photos I do have all I can do is compare what I've got against photos from the internet.
From what I can tell, and because I'm really hoping that it's a Pueo, I'm going to go ahead and say that it's a Pueo. If you disagree, feel free to let me know.
Pueos are currently on the Endangered Species list, but there are many who argue that there is no discernible difference that qualifies them to be listed as a subspecies. Some locals believe that this argument to change classification is a gambit the U.S. Government is using to make the habitat of the Pueo more easily accessible for expansion of current military bases and testing grounds here on the island. There's a similar discussion about the I'o (Hawai'ian Hawk) and it's actual population here, and how that relates to it's status as endangered (U.S. listing), threatened, or tear-threatened (International listing). But that's a whole can of worms for another day.
Speaking of I'os, endangered or not, we're lucky enough to have a few who live in the woods on the other side of the river at the back of the property. There are two or three that are always around, and they must have had some offspring last year, because at one point there were five of them here at once.
A while back, one landed on the ohia by the bridge and I was able to sneak up and take a few shots while it was grooming itself. I was using Kalewa's camera, and I didn't want to disturb his settings, so OF COURSE the photos turned out like crap. But here's one anyway.
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Judging from the marks on the post that the owl is perched on (pic 2) that's much smaller than any Barn Owl I've seen (but it could be juvenile - I suppose), but the coloration seems very similar. I saw a Barn Owl in the fall that had what seemed to be a wingspan of at least 3-1/2' to 4', so they get massive. Cool find. Our pond just had a couple of pelicans, pair of loons, and 2 blue herons in it this week.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the input (and supporting my desire for this to be a Pueo!). You know, I crept up to this guy 3 times, spooked it three times, and got photos in three locations. Each time it was perched it seemed really small, but in flight the bird looked huge. For such a small bird it still had a surprisingly large wingspan, even for a raptor. I didn't get any good in-flight photos to show this, but it did add some extra doubt in my mind. Thanks again for the input!
ReplyDeleteAnd on a side note, I think chocolate and wasabi go together quite well. :)
Well, it's official. My dad, who loves to identify birds, has stated that this is not a barn owl!
ReplyDeleteSweet......