Long-eared Owl (Asio otus)
Here’s an old photo from one of my point and shoot cameras, zoomed in quite far about 30 times and further cropped, of a Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) roosting in a tree. Taking such a photo during the daylight hours, in the bright winter sun, of such a sensitive bird species should only be done from far away. You do not want to risk disturbing or flushing them from their location as Long-eared Owls are especially sensitive to human intrusion. They will be alarmed easily and fly from the location, exposing them to attacks from other predators and mobbing by songbirds. They will also often...
Read MoreRainy Red-tailed Hawk
This drenched Red-tailed Hawk was another bird being impacted by the weather and seen yesterday by our friend Gale VerHague, this time at the Dunkirk Airport. It doesn’t feel like rain today in Chautauqua County, does it? That will be the end of that for some time! Let’s see how much snow we can bank up this week.
Read MoreExpect the Unexpected
Winter Birding Forecast #2 is brought to you by Audubon Connecticut in partnership with the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History. The relatively mild December is making for great birding opportunities as we close out 2014. So called “half-hardy” birds such as Gray Catbird, Pine Warbler and Common Yellowthroat are putting in appearances on Christmas Bird Count (CBC) checklists and birds like Hermit Thrush, Winter Wren and Eastern Bluebird are being found in good numbers as are Yellow-rumped Warblers at some coastal locations. One of the biggest surprises of the week was the...
Read MoreCloudy with a Chance of Snowys
This is the first of a series of Winter Birds Forecasts focused on Connecticut and the surrounding region brought to you by Audubon Connecticut and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History and written by Patrick Comins, Director of Bird Conservation, Audubon Connecticut with Scott Kruitbosch, Conservation & Outreach Coordinator, Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History. Photos by Patrick Comins. A spate of early sightings of Snowy Owls in the Northeast has the birding community excited for a possible repeat of last year’s mega irruption that saw dozens of sightings of...
Read MorePacific screech owl (Megascops cooperi)
Where do you think this owl was found? And what species do you think it is? I can tell you that it is not from a neighborhood near most of you. If you said Costa Rica, good job! One would never know this was in the rainforest from the pitch black and gorgeously haunting feeling to this photo. The bird is a Pacific Screech-Owl (Megascops cooperi) as taken by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
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