STARS OF SHOW

BIRDS TAKE CENTER STAGE ON LAKESIDE TOUR

STAFF PHOTO FLIP PUTTHOFF 
A screech owl basking in sunshine was a highlight for birders during a trip on Saturday at Rocky Branch park on Beaver Lake.

STAFF PHOTO FLIP PUTTHOFF A screech owl basking in sunshine was a highlight for birders during a trip on Saturday at Rocky Branch park on Beaver Lake.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

— Owls are mostly heard, but these nighttime hunters are rarely seen when they hoot or gently whistle from a lofty perch in soft moonlight.

So what’s a screech owl doing basking in the sun in broad daylight, within camera range of 25 bird enthusiasts jumping for joy at the sight? Shutters clicked with such fury it seemed the group was focused on an ivory-billed woodpecker instead of a little owl.

The screech owl stole the show during a Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society field trip held Saturday morning at Rocky Branch park on Beaver Lake. The birders marveled, too, at bald eagles, soaring vultures and pintsized grebes. Golden-eye ducks got in on the act, landing with precision on the waves close to the birders.

The field trip was one of several the Audubon group hosts each year at lakes, prairies and forests around the region. Everyone is welcome, not just Audubon members.

Saturday’s feathery show at Rocky Branch took place at one of the widest expanses of Beaver Lake. Looking north from the park, bird watchers can see across a mile or more of water. That makes Rocky Branch a top destination on the lake to see water-oriented birds, said trip leader Joe Neal.

So what’s with this screech owl, Joe?

“It’s cold this morning and look how it’s facing right into the sun,” Neal said. The screech owl perched on the branch of a post oak, facing east with its eyes shut tight, as if sleeping.

Screech owls sunbathe in the winter. That’s not unusual, Neal noted. But they’re usually seen at the entrance hole of a tree cavity.

Sunning on a branch is unusual, he said.

Dried brown leaves and gnarly bark of the oak tree camouflaged the screech owl perfectly. Kevin Inkster was the first to see it and only because a chickadee was going nuts, flying circles around the owl and sounding a chirping alarm.

The screech owl was evidently in owl paradise. When the bird watchers returned to the spot two hours later, the owl was still there, basking in sunshine.

BY LAND, WATER

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers parks like Rocky Branch are fine destinations for birding. Neal, who’s the author of books and articles on birding, has led a January field trip at Rocky Branch several times over the years. The variety of habitat attracts birds of all types, and bird enthusiasts.

There is Beaver Lake, of course, for seeing water birds. Great blue herons patrol the shoreline for fish and other food. Squadrons of ducks, geese and cormorants are seen. Osprey and bald eagles get hearts throbbing when they soar overhead.

Calm days are best for seeing birds at Beaver Lake, Neal said. Whitecaps were the norm on this breezy Saturday, making it tough to see swimming birds like horned grebes. These are small birds that prefer Beaver Lake.

“You rarely see them anywhere else in Northwest Arkansas except here,” Neal said. “And there always seem to be some in this Rocky Branch to Slate Gap area.”

Forests in the lakeside parks bring in the landlubber birds.

A cackling pileated woodpecker got Saturday’s field trip off to a good start right there in the marina parking lot.

Grassy tracts such as those at launch ramps and campgrounds, draw the common chickadees, robins and cardinals.

Most people know these. Birding with the Audubon folks helps casual birders identify the lesser known varieties, like the pine warblers Neal had us looking for later. One bird seen Saturday was just a cute little bird to the untrained eye, or a golden-crowned kinglet if you really wanted to know.

Don’t know a grackle from a goose? No problem. Audubon members are patient and eager to help new birders, said Phyllis Kane of Fayetteville. She’s been going on Audubon field trips for about a year.

“They’ll help you identify birds, plus the people are really nice. There’s good camaraderie,” she said.

Audubon members bring along spotting scopes that bring distant birds in close, you are asked to bring your own binoculars.

Willingness of the group to share their enthusiasm hit home when the screech owl was seen. A group of Boy Scouts was cooking breakfast in a campsite nearby. One of the Audubon group hoofed it to their camp to alert the scouts about this rare sight. The boys came running and shared in screech-owl joy.

Hunting for birds with binoculars is similar to hunting anything. Sometimes one gets skunked.

A walk in a hilltop area to see pine warblers was a bust. Wind had pushed the birds elsewhere, Neal figured. The group did see a chickadee feeding in leaf litter on the ground, then lift oft into a nearby cedar tree.

Seeing birds and hearing their song is worth a winter walk at Rocky Branch or any Beaver Lake park.

Outdoor, Pages 6 on 01/23/2014