Mary Jean and I also paid a visit to the outlet mall this afternoon, with three things on our list: a radio/cd player, storage bins and a snowy owl. We were able to check all of them off our list. When we arrived late afternoon, we drove the interior perimeter of the mall looking for the owl perched on top of a lamp post or something else, but did not find it. So we proceeded with our shopping. While walking near the food court, I spotted the owl atop of lamp post #33. It didn't stay there long, but flew across the parking lot to the other side, swooping down in front of what I think I remember to be the Rockport store. It came up again quickly and landed on lamp post #6, behind Old Navy, which is near the retention pond that Donna mentions. It was there only a short time before heading off again, over the retention pond and then out of sight for us behind the mall buildings. We later walked by the retention pond, but didn't see it again, though by then it was dark enough that the lights were on and it was difficult to see anything atop the lamp posts. We didn't see Donna there, but we appear to have had the same observations from opposite sides of the mall, starting with post #33 of her report.
Marty From: bounce-39069033-3494...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-39069033-3494...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Donna Scott Sent: Thursday, December 29, 2011 7:43 PM To: CAYUGABIRDS-L Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Snowy Owl goes to the Outlet Mall I spent about 2.5 hours watching the Snowy Owl at the Waterloo Outlets Mall this afternoon, from around 2:30 to 5 PM when it got dark. These are my observations, including what the owl was eating! Since I am not a shopper and have never been to this mall, it took me a few drives around the place to notice that the "Sunoco sign" to which Dave Bonter referred is at the big Thruway service station across the Thruway from the rear side of the outlet mall. When I finally figured that out, I drove around an access road at the back of the stores and found a car parked facing the T'way and the service station across the way. They were watching the Snowy Owl with binocs from their car. They left shortly after. SNOW was then perched on the left lamp of the tallest lamppost, that has 3 large lamps pointing at the large services building. I walked up to the T'way fence to watch SNOW who remained there for 5-10 minutes. The owl looked all around at its surroundings, seemingly unbothered by the loud din of the constant T'way traffic. Now and then it did some charming head bobbing. Then it flew up to the main roof of the large building and sat there a few minutes. Next, to my horror, it flew down in a low arc to the Thruway median! It caught a dark animal there and with that prey and a bunch of grass in its mouth it then, again to my horror, flew in a very low arc across the west-bound lane of the T'way!! Luckily, there was a short gap in the heavy traffic and SNOW escaped unharmed. It flew safely up into the air and perched on a shorter lamp post on a rectangular light, and I was able to see it tear apart its mid-afternoon snack and eat it! The grass later floated down to earth below the post. So, SNOW is eating normal owl food, not french fries or discarded bubble gum. After eating its prey, SNOW flew again to the roof, then over to the ball on top of the flagpole that holds the NYS flag, where it sat for about 20-30 minutes, all the while looking every which way. At 3:57 pm it flew back to the mall side of the T'way and perched on the point of the large blue and white sign by the T'way that says Waterloo Premium Outlets - this exit. I pulled up nearby in my car and stayed inside. SNOW then flew into the retention pond area (which is between Post 6 back of Old Navy and the T'way; that is most likely why the owl is often seen there - because the pond area and its banks are good places to hunt.) It again caught a small dark animal (smaller than the catch in the T'way median) and flew back to the sign and wolfed it down. I noticed the several muskrat houses in the long r. pond. The water is pretty low, there are numerous large grass plants and a mowed bank all around the pond. At 4:20 pm SNOW flew right down by my car and into the r. pond, where it caught another critter! It sat on the ground and ate that one. SNOW then flew to Post 6 for a few minutes, then flew across the main parking area of the mall and disappeared; came back minutes later and perched on post 33 in the parking lot, near J. Crew store. Then in a nerve-wrackingly low swoop it flew back up to Post 6 at about 4:33. It then flew into the pond area again and immediately west, up to the roof of the Levis building and disappeared over the top wall. Moments later it reappeared and flew out to perch on the electric pole nearest the T'way and the bridge just west of the mall that crosses the T'way. It sat there some minutes and then (again to my horror) flew DOWN towards the T'way median! This time SNOW was actually either slightly grazed by the top of a semi-trailer truck or was so close to the truck that it was startled into flying up and away! It swooped down a bit over the median and the west-bound lane and up onto an electric pole on the north side of the T'way. (This pole is also east of the bridge that crosses the T'way.) SNOW was still perched on that electric pole when I left at 5 PM due to darkness. I hope somehow the encounter with the truck will help SNOW figure out that the middle of the T'way is not the best place to hunt. I wish it would head out to some of the more rural farm fields that are nearby. Since it is used to low flying, SNOW is in danger at the mall and by the T'way. I agree with Dave Nutter that nowhere else is more bleak and tundra-like than a mall, but I wish Snowy would end its adventure at the Waterloo Outlets. However, except for this real concern for the owl's safety, it was fascinating watching as "Snowy goes to the Mall"! Donna Scott Lansing Station Road Lansing, NY 14882 d...@cornell.edu<mailto:d...@cornell.edu> -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME> Rules and Information<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> Archives: The Mail Archive<http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html> Surfbirds<http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds> BirdingOnThe.Net<http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html> Please submit your observations to eBird<http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>! -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
