Spotted an owl today perched on a low branch of a tree dotting the Ulu Dedap paddyfields while driving home along the Teluk Intan-Sitiawan road at about 10.30am. Upon reaching home, mind was still deciding whether to head out again with my camera stuff and try my luck - lighting would be harsh, the owl may have flown, I've loads of chores to do..... After a moment of "persuasion" from a special friend, and not wanting to regret it if i didnt do anything .....I did head out again. reaching the spot at about noon..........Did the owl wait for me???? YES!!!! and it was a barn owl - juv, i think.....first time ever my camera "captured" an owl.
Startled by my presence, it flew to a nearby pole before flying further away to get to a shade....
Knowing that I wont get any good keepers on this cluttered tree and bright sunlight, I left the bird to continue its good-day sleep.
Why did I want to head out today and not wait till tomorrow? Last Sunday, while driving on the same stretch of road, I saw 5 carcasses of birds - road-kills, all within less than one kilometre distance from each other. Two on the right side, two on the left side and one in the middle of the road. Only one of them was whole and not flatten by tyres, and it was a barn owl. From the feathers of the others, I believed the rest were all barn owls too - could be one or two birds torn into many different pieces, I dont know - but it is sad that these magnificent birds ended up dead on the road. Used my cellphone to take photos of them, but I dont know how to download the images from a cellphone to computer (alamak!!). The image below was taken on 13 Dec 2010 - also within the same vicinity of paddyfields...Bet it was a barn owl too...
Sad ending.This stretch of road is popular for night-traveling lorries transporting goods from south to north and vice versa - toll-free. Have seen lots of road-kills on this road - apart from birds, snakes/reptiles and other small mammals....I saw a huge cow/buffalo dead by the roadside just last Christmas too......:-(
Sad ending.
