Let’s be honest – this winter has been absolutely brutal! Whether we want to blame this continuous weather pattern on climate change or not, this is not what the climate is supposed to feel like in mid to late February. As the sun keeps rising temperatures keep plummeting with record low minimums at night and record low maximums during the day. The snow keeps coming, and more will be coming this weekend. However, the Snowy Owls have been a bit tougher to find this year than last. Nevertheless, there are many individuals spending their season here in our neighborhoods, which look a lot more like their summer stomping grounds – the tundra and the arctic circle.
I wanted to share these photos of a fly-by Snowy Owl taken earlier today in Stratford, Connecticut. I was able to snap off several shots as it passed by me, flying along the coast over the icy waters of Long Island Sound.
I wish I had a few more seconds to be ready with my camera, but that is when the best birding moments happen…very unexpectedly! I have been writing a lot about winter birds in the past couple of months, and especially the Snowy Owl, thanks to the Winter Bird Forecasts brought to you by Audubon Connecticut and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History, our latest being Winter Bird Forecast #6. Nearly all of us are getting a bit tired of surplus snow and continuous cold, but I wholeheartedly encourage you to bundle up and venture outdoors this weekend. Spring will be here before we know it, and it is time to keep enjoying all of the beautiful creatures winter provides us with.
Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
