Throwback Thursday – Snowy Owl
This Snowy Owl was a Jamestown discovery made by Twan on an unexpectedly sunny day around this time last winter. It is a Throwback Thursday of gorgeously epic proportions. At least four Snowy Owls were at the Dunkirk Airport yesterday. This year’s irruption is definitely continuing to be a strong one. Keep your eyes open across Chautauqua County for more birds and we will update you on their distribution and overall sightings soon!
Read MoreCommon Redpoll Irruption Update
This is a companion blog entry to the Winter Bird Forecast by Audubon Connecticut and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History. The first two forecasts were published recently: “Cloudy with a Chance of Snowys” and “Expect the Unexpected”. The third will be coming soon! The Common Redpoll (Acanthis flammea) was predicted to make a “moderate to good flight” this fall and winter due to “variably poor to average” birch seed crops in the boreal forest according to Ron Pittaway’s 2014-15 winter finch forecast. Nearly a month ago I started to notice more reports...
Read MoreSnowy Owl in Dunkirk, New York
This tremendous photo of a Snowy Owl at Wright Park Beach in Dunkirk, New York was taken this morning by our friend Gale VerHague. She used a basic point and shoot camera showing how easily we can safely photograph these birds from a distance thanks to a good zoom, especially if you have a scope. Giving them space is important so that they can rest during the day and hunt at night – in this case, likely waterfowl on Lake Erie. It is all the more necessary when, as Gale told me, birds like American Crows have honed in on the raptor as they were harassing this individual. Please try to...
Read MoreSnowy Owl eBird Map 11/24/14
Here is the Snowy Owl eBird map for August through November as of Monday morning, November 24, 2014. Additional birds seem to have moved into already busy areas in the central flyway, Great Lakes region and the Atlantic Coast. A few edged down the eastern seaboard making their way onto Long Island, into Delaware and Maryland. The last week of November is usually a very good time to see them, even during years with little to no broad or significant irruption of the species. Good luck!
Read MoreSnowy Owls spreading south
In the past week, since I posted this entry about another possible irruption, more Snowy Owls have moved in to southern Canada and the United States. One bird was found and photographed by Michele Rundquist-Franz, President of the Presque Isle Audubon Society, in Erie, Pennsylvania, not too far from us at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History in Jamestown, New York. Local excitement went up another level this weekend as two Snowy Owls appeared here in our own Chautauqua County on Saturday, November 15, both at the Dunkirk Airport. The first was found in the morning by our...
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