[nysbirds-l] Snowy Owl at the Calverton Grasslands
Thanks to Mellissa Hahn's phone call late this afternoon, I was able to see the snowy she had found on a quick trip through the grasslands, after teaching school today, and before returning to school tonight, to assist her music students in presenting a holiday concert for the community. Hopefully their performance was as good as the owl's ! Before I arrived, the bird had been on top of a sign close to the short runway, when an interaction with a passing N. Harrier, caused it to fly past the long runway, landing on a short cedar tree in the middle of the grass. I had just got on it, when it took off and made the 1st of 4 stops. It's 2nd stop brought it to ~ 100 yards of Route 25, with both flights being so low and swift, we expected it to pounce on something. We then moved and parked on Rt.25. In a short while the bird lifted, and proceeded to fly toward the road. Having excellent views as it proceeded north, we expected the bird to continue across the road, but don't you know, it landed on a fence post ~ 50' e/o us...yess! It stayed there ~ 10 seconds before crossing the road and headed toward the FAA tower, before "buzzing" a deer and landing on a red post in the direction of Rt. 25A. After Mellissa left, I decided there was still enough light to "luck into" a Short-eared Owl. I looked for the next 15 minutes, but I had had my luck for the day. Oh well, there is always tomorrow and the gyrfalcon ! Cheers, Bob -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[nysbirds-l] Snowy Owl at the Calverton Grasslands
Thanks to Mellissa Hahn's phone call late this afternoon, I was able to see the snowy she had found on a quick trip through the grasslands, after teaching school today, and before returning to school tonight, to assist her music students in presenting a holiday concert for the community. Hopefully their performance was as good as the owl's ! Before I arrived, the bird had been on top of a sign close to the short runway, when an interaction with a passing N. Harrier, caused it to fly past the long runway, landing on a short cedar tree in the middle of the grass. I had just got on it, when it took off and made the 1st of 4 stops. It's 2nd stop brought it to ~ 100 yards of Route 25, with both flights being so low and swift, we expected it to pounce on something. We then moved and parked on Rt.25. In a short while the bird lifted, and proceeded to fly toward the road. Having excellent views as it proceeded north, we expected the bird to continue across the road, but don't you know, it landed on a fence post ~ 50' e/o us...yess! It stayed there ~ 10 seconds before crossing the road and headed toward the FAA tower, before buzzing a deer and landing on a red post in the direction of Rt. 25A. After Mellissa left, I decided there was still enough light to luck into a Short-eared Owl. I looked for the next 15 minutes, but I had had my luck for the day. Oh well, there is always tomorrow and the gyrfalcon ! Cheers, Bob -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
