Snowy Away
This is about the best photo of a Snowy Owl that I could get in the last couple of weeks. They have been elusive, to say the least, even when nearby. Most of that time I have encountered the far more wary individual – one of two hanging out for the winter in the Stratford Point area – and it has been certainly as jumpy as ever lately. On Tuesday it was chased off by crows before anyone noticed it hunkered down in the grasslands. The shot here is the result of it flying off last week before I could even raise my camera between the door and body of my Jeep from hundreds of feet...
Read MoreSnowy Owl
Welcome to winter! It took a while, but we are really feeling it now, with more to come this January as we look at long-range weather models. Here are a few more upland photos of the Snowy Owl that I enjoyed last Friday on a much warmer day without any snow. As we get deeper into the season we will inevitably see a few more winter birds…additional Rough-legged Hawks? Perhaps finally some of those record-setting Common Redpolls that were pouring south in Canada during autumn? It seems to be a down season for irruptive passerines, but I have to think we will at least have more backyard...
Read More“Fall” Radar Migration
Welcome to fall migration season, and it is heating up already! These radar grabs from Buffalo and Upton, New York show you some avian migration after the cold front passage a couple days ago. Thursday night into Friday morning saw the arrival of new birds for many areas as flycatchers, vireos, warblers, shorebirds, swallows, blackbirds and more are hitting various staging and roosting areas, following coasts on nonstop trips, or slowly making their way south across our lands. All of the blues and darker greens you see are mostly birds with some insects mixed in. Bright greens, yellow,...
Read MoreCrazy Climate Maps
One benefit of the continual and seemingly never-ending cold and snowy winter (also known as spring now!) is that it provides us a tremendous opportunity to engage and educate people. The topic of our weather invariably comes up in every day life, especially now, and when someone complains about their heating bill or their aching back (thanks, shoveling!) you can mention to them that all of this may likely be due to our changing climate. The above graphic shows our globe and the general temperature percentile categories for meteorological winter, December through February, via NOAA’s...
Read MoreCommon Redpolls coming
Common Redpolls are starting to arrive further south as we hit the beginning of meteorological winter (December 1-February 28/29). Here is one bird enjoying a little snow snack as well as the eBird range map of sightings for the species for October through December, 2014. Hold on to your socks! Or fill them with thistle seed and put them out for the birds…
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