Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) by Scott Kruitbosch
Tough day for a Christmas Bird Count once again as the snow continues to fall…but it makes for pretty scenery in Jamestown, especially with a Snowy Owl in the middle of it! This, an immature female, wasn’t the only one. More awesome raptors and photos and videos to come…
Read MoreSnowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) by Scott Kruitbosch
Here’s a distant record photo of a Snowy Owl on the fence far from Girts Rd. at the Chautauqua County/Jamestown Airport in the late afternoon snow. We watched it take several shots at prey, possibly capturing one or two items, and flying around this section of the airport watching the vehicles clearing runways. It looked healthy and strong and we hope it sticks around to enjoy good hunting.
Read MoreShooting Snowy Owls at airports
By now you have probably heard about this story but at 2:25AM on Monday, December 9 the New York Daily News posted an article detailing Port Authority ‘wildlife specialists’ that were now shooting and killing Snowy Owls at the New York City metro airports. Snowy Owls are currently in the middle of a massive irruption with sightings all over the Great Lakes and Atlantic Coast regions, a movement we thought could be coming even before it started in earnest. A Port Authority source told the NYDN that three Snowy Owls had already been killed with shotguns at JFK. They were added to...
Read MoreShort-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) by Scott Kruitbosch
Let’s play find the Short-eared Owl! Don’t forget to look for these raptors with their own incredible camouflage and hiding skills along with the Snowys. I photographed this one today and even when I knew where it was I kept losing track of it despite the fact it never moved an inch.
Read MoreShort-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) by Twan Leenders
This morning Twan found six Short-eared Owls at the Chautauqua County/Jamestown Airport hanging out near a warm wet spot within all the snow (funny, the breeding Henslow’s Sparrows like the same areas!) This evening we enjoyed watching at least that many hunting for their small mammal prey. The favored hunting area on Airport Drive seems to be the best spot to watch them in flight and perch on some of the runway lights.
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