From today's Washington Post:
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A snowy owl -- an Arctic species rarely seen this far south -- spent part of yesterday afternoon surveying downtown Washington from a high ledge at 17th and L streets NW. The owls, which usually spend winters near the U.S.-Canada border, have turned up in several places across Virginia and Maryland this year. Birding experts think the problem might be a shortage of lemmings, an important prey, on their home turf.Yeah, Greg, but we have a lot of rats, and not all of them are politicians!
Bird experts said the last time a snowy owl was seen this close to the city's urban core was 1994, when one was spotted at Reagan National Airport. Greg Butcher of the National Audubon Society said he hoped this owl would move on from downtown: "We don't have too many lemmings here."
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3 comments:
One of the more spectacular birds out there. I've only seen one, about 30 years ago in Massachusetts. Birders in Ann Arbor were excited back in the 80s when one perched on the marquee of the Parthanon Greek restaurant in downtown.. corner of Main and Liberty. I missed that one.
Whaddya mean there aren't enough lemmings in DC? AFAIK, the lemming gene is dominant in most Republicans (and, yes, I know the mass suicide story is just that - a story - but the metaphorical match is just too perfect).
Back in my "yout" I saw one of these in a state park in Minnesota in early Spring. They are spectacular....
You are so right about the rats- with all of the trash on the Mall, there's more than plenty for them to eat. They'd come out at night and gross us out when we would take our evening tourist-free walks when I used to live there.
I remember RFK Jr. talking about when there used to be falcons in DC who would hunt pigeons. I can't remember what type of falcon it was, but he said that species was a victim of DDT and is now extinct.
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