Gray Ghost
The past week yielded a very large push of migrant Northern Harriers throughout the Northeast, with a sizable percentage of these birds being gray ghosts – adult males – like this one. The strong north and northwest winds following this current cold front should help many more migrants come through our area in the next few days. Will there be more southern and western November rarities with them? Probably, so keep an eye out for everything from the Swainson’s Hawk to the Townsend’s Warbler. Don’t forget we are only a couple weeks away from December 1 and the...
Read MoreWinter Raptor Surveys
The Harriers have arrived! This is a migrant Northern Harrier hunting over coastal grasslands in November. The Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History will be assisting the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for a third season of wintering raptor surveys in Chautauqua County in 2015-2016. The primary focus of these surveys is to determine where Short-eared Owls (Asio flammeus), ‘endangered’ in New York, and Northern Harriers (Circus cyaneus), ‘threatened’ in New York, are spending the winter season to roost and feed. We need your help,...
Read MoreNorthern Harrier Migrant
Can you spot the bird in this photo? Good luck! It is a migrant from the Boothe Park Hawk Watch, and it is in the upper right third of the picture. High in the sky in a suburban park is also not where you would normally imagine spotting one. It is a Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus) on the way south for the winter, heading down the Housatonic River corridor to find Long Island Sound and the Atlantic coast. Binoculars help to identify it, but even here you can see the long wings, long tail and soaring, light flight it takes at low levels over fields. Maybe it will use Stratford Point or other...
Read MoreGray Ghost Northern Harrier
This is a “Gray Ghost” Northern Harrier, an adult male soaring through the sky and hunting over grasslands. The Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History has been assisting the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for a second season of wintering raptor surveys in Chautauqua County in 2014-2015. The primary focus of these surveys is to determine where Short-eared Owls (Asio flammeus), ‘endangered’ in New York, and Northern Harriers (Circus cyaneus), ‘threatened’ in New York, are spending the winter season to roost and feed. As we...
Read MoreStarving Raptors
These photos are of a Northern Harrier on the hunt, swooping over grasslands and fields in search of small mammal prey. While I took these shots mere days ago this type of predatory behavior in itself has been a bit more scarce than usual this winter. Birds of prey, including owls and various hawks, have had a very difficult time finding food during the historically cold and very snowy conditions. Needing more calories than ever to survive in this weather they have had very little to find, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation reports there has been a high mortality...
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