Continuing Winter Raptor Surveys
This a friendly request and reminder that we at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History are surveying for wintering Northern Harriers and Short-eared Owls in Chautauqua County, two state-listed raptors that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is tracking in Western New York. Fortunately they share habitat with other beautiful birds like the Snowy Owl and you may end up being in productive locations for them often in the next few months. If you find any of the two species from now until spring please let us know with as much information on the sighting as...
Read MoreWintering American Kestrels
One species you may spot even if you strike out on finding a Snowy Owl is the American Kestrel, a bird of open fields and grasslands that will favor much of the same inland habitats. Like other falcons (and the Snowy Owls, again) you can also spot it while at the shore, feeding on rodents or avian migrants. They are small, fast raptors, usually wary of humans. If you spot a Kestrel while driving a quiet road like this one and do not get out of your vehicle you may be able to get a nice look before it dashes off after a small bird or mammal.
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...
Read More
