The photograph of a short-eared owl clicked by Chandigarh birder Jasbir Singh Randhawa. Its migration pattern is very irregular, moving south in winter (Twitter @WildlifeMag) The BBC Wildlife Magazine picked the photograph of short-eared owl clicked by Chandigarh birder, Jasbir Singh Randhawa, as the photo of the day for its Twitter handle @WildlifeMag, on Monday. The short-eared owl is a rare-sighted bird in the Tricity. Randhawa, who resides in Sector 35, captured the nocturnal owl at one of the prominent birding sites in Mohali last month.
“I captured the short-eared owl last month. The Tricity is not its habitat. It is a migratory bird in our area. This means it stays here for a brief period, to rest, while covering a long distance or migrating. There was a flock of eight to ten birds when, I, along with another birder, clicked the picture. I put the picture on Twitter tagging many organisations including BBC Wildlife. Today, its Twitter handle picked it as the photo of the day,” Randhawa said. Randhawa has been birdwatching for more than a decade. He is a retired tea planter.
It must be noted here that when reports emerged about the owls’ sighting last month, some birders observed that the flock had been disturbed. To be able to photograph the birds in motion, people allegedly threw stones at the owls’ nesting sites, as information about its presence spread among birders. Many thronged to the particular location to capture the owl in their cameras. The reports forced Chandigarh Bird Club (CBC) to not divulge the location its Twitter or Facebook pages.
Photo of the Day: A short-eared owl in Mohali, Punjab, India, by @jasbirsrandhawa
To submit an image to our Photo of the Day, use the hashtag #BBCWildlifePOTD.
Find out more on our website: https://t.co/E48eufj7XU pic.twitter.com/g2RFi5U2kW— BBC Wildlife (@WildlifeMag) April 11, 2022
Matinder Pal Sekhon, President, CBC, said, “We felt that mentioning the name of location of the rare-sighted bird can be dangerous for it. Since last month, we have not been posting photos with locations. We simply mention the name of city where the photo was clicked.”
The short-eared owl visits India during winter. Its migration pattern is very irregular, moving south in winter. A medium-sized owl with rounded head, its ears are difficult to see. The wings are broad and the tips are smoothly rounded and its tail is short.
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